The European passenger car market continued its rebound in January, thanks to the growing popularity of SUVs and all-electric cars.
JATO Dynamics reports that the number of new registrations increased by 11 percent year-over-year to 907,000 (in 27 countries monitored by the company). That's a positive sign, although the volume was still lower than a few years ago.
One of the most interesting things is that SUVs reached a new record market share of 51.3 percent (including all types - small, compact, midsize and luxury crossover/SUVs), thanks to a 14 increase in registrations in January (to 464,900).
Another engine of growth is Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs), which also expanded their volume by 14 percent year-over-year, to 92,700.
According to JATO Dynamics, the most registered all-electric model in January was the Tesla Model Y with 7,174 units, which does not surprise us, as it's right in the middle of the hottest segments (BEVs and SUVs).
The other popular models were the Dacia Spring (4,242), Volkswagen ID.4 (3,812), Volkswagen ID.3 (3,348) and Fiat 500 electric (3,248), but none of them was even close to the Tesla Model Y.
Top plug-in models in Europe (27 countries) in January 2023
An interesting finding is that the Tesla brand noted a 1,018 percent increase in registrations (to almost 9,400 units) compared to January 2022, which was a slow month for the company. The biggest part of that is the Tesla Model Y, but there is also the Model 3, and the newly introduced, refreshed Tesla Model S and Model X.
For reference, Volkswagen increased its BEV sales by 29 percent year-over-year (achieving a very similar volume as Tesla), Audi by 29 percent (to 6,400), BMW by 28 percent, and Mercedes-Benz was up by 16 percent.
While Tesla continues to expand and notes some interesting results, the brand is however still relatively small in Europe - in January it was behind Suzuki, Mini and Jeep. Time will tell whether the company will be able to improve its position. Especially considering the end-of-the-quarter rush, there is a potential for a much higher position.
