According to foreign media reports, due to further weakness in electric vehicle demand in Germany, Europe’s largest auto market, European car sales in July were essentially flat year-on-year.
On August 29, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) released data showing that in July this year, new car registrations in the European Union, the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and the UK market rose only 0.4% year-on-year to 1.03 million units. Among them, gasoline car sales fell 8.4% year-on-year; diesel car sales fell 11% year-on-year; and hybrid car sales jumped 24% year-on-year, the most European sales growth in the month. By comparison, Europe’s electric vehicle market share was 13.6 percent, down from 14.5 percent a year ago. While countries such as France and the UK saw an increase in EV sales, these increases were not enough to offset the 37% drop in the German EV market.
Tesla’s sales in the European market also continued to decline last month, down 15 percent year-over-year, and in the first seven months of the year, Tesla’s European sales were down 12 percent year-over-year. For months, European electric car sales have remained sluggish, in part because European governments have cut financial subsidies for purchasing battery-powered vehicles. Germany abruptly ended its EV subsidy policy in mid-December last year, and the country’s continued economic downturn has also affected consumer spending.
Meanwhile, automakers have scaled back production plans for electric vehicles and slowed plans to phase out combustion-engine vehicles due to slowing demand. For example, Volkswagen Group, Europe’s No. 1 automaker, may close an Audi electric car plant near Brussels and is looking to cut costs further. Carlos Tavares, chief executive of Stellantis, Europe’s second-largest automaker, warned about its underperforming brands after the company’s first-half net profit nearly slumped. Mercedes-Benz also lowered its full-year 2024 profit margin forecast and dropped its medium-term electric-car sales target because the company believes the transition from fuel to electric vehicles will take longer than expected.
Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Gillian Davis and Mike Dean said, “Given the lack of government incentives for electric vehicles in Europe and little consumer interest beyond the first buyers, growth in pure electric vehicle registrations may continue to slow. ” Coupled with the European Union’s previously announced tariff increase on electric vehicle imports from China, which has exacerbated trade tensions between Europe and China, the outlook for the European electric vehicle market has become more complicated.