The European passenger car market witnessed a smaller opening in 2023
According to the figures presented by the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA), the European passenger car market witnessed slower growth in the first month of 2023 compared to 2022, while petrol-fueled cars showed no sign of disappearance.
Followed by a year of highly disrupted supply chains, 2023 saw a good but slow start in the European passenger car market: With 760,041 units registered, the market grew by 11.3%, where the share of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and petrol-fueled cars increased:
- Registrations for battery electric and hybrid cars accounted for 9.5% and 26% of the market, respectively,
- Petrol is the most popular fuel type, with petrol cars representing 37.9% of the market share.
The growth in January 2023 is the lowest volume for January ever, according to ACEA. Additional figures show that the interest in EVs continued to grow, while petrol kept its strength and diesel lost more market share:
- BEV registrations increased 22.9% and hit 71,984 units, grabbing a market share of 9.5%, compared to 8.6% in January 2022.
- Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) grew by 22.1% and hit 197,982 units, reaching double-digit sales in Spain, Italy, Germany and France.
- Plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV) sales shrunk by 9.9% to 53,649 units, showing the most significant drop in Germany by -53.2%. PHEV's market share dropped to 7.1% in January 2023, compared to 8.7% a year before.
- Petrol car registrations increased 12.3%, reaching a market share of 37.9%, compared to 37.6% in January 2022.
- Diesel car market continues to shrink, says ACEA, with a decline of 1.6%. Diesel's market share dropped to 15.9% in January 2023 from 17.9% last year.
Image: Shutterstock; in-article visuals are courtesy of ACEA.
