EU car registrations grow for 14th consecutive month

Brussels – New car registrations in the EU rose 9.2% year-on-year in September, with Italy and France posting “substantial” double-digit gains during the month.

A total of 861,062 units were sold during the month to mark the market’s 14th consecutive month of growth, said the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA).

Italy and France posted growth of 22.7% and 10.7% respectively, while Germany remained stable with a marginal 0.1% drop compared to last year.

Over the first three quarters of 2023, the EU car market grew by just under 17.0%, totalling 8 million registered units.

Despite the “substantial” year-to-date increase, ACEA figures showed that the market remained 20% below the pre-Covid level of 10 million units in 2019.

Except for Hungary which reported a decline of 3.2%, all of the region’s markets recorded gains during these nine months, including the four largest: Italy (20.5%), Spain (18.5%), France (15.9%), and Germany (14.5%).

Breaking down the demand, ACEA said the battery-electric vehicle (BEV) market share reached 14.8% in September, showing a slight increase compared to 14.1% posted in the same month last year.

For the third time this year, the BEV segment overtook diesel demand, becoming the third-most-popular choice for new cars following petrol and hybrid-electric cars.

HEVs retained their position as the second most-preferred option, accounting for a 27.3% share of the market.

Despite a decline in market share from 35.3% last year to 34.1% in September, petrol vehicles remained top choice for car buyers.