- The European car market went down in November.
- Hybrids continued to grow their market share while electric, gas and diesel cars went down.
As the year is coming to an end, the European electric vehicle market couldn’t be murkier. It’s a mishmash of numbers and depending on where you look or who you ask, you might get two completely different answers to the question, “How are EVs doing in Europe?”
In November, some countries like Greece, Cyprus, Ireland and Czechia had double- and even triple-digit increases in EV registrations, while others, such as Croatia, France, Germany and Romania had double-digit decreases in EV registrations last month compared to the same period last year.
These are all members of the European Union, but there’s also the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), which includes Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, that can go into the mix. The United Kingdom is also a big market that needs to be considered.
So, how does the electric vehicle market look in Europe? In November, EV registrations in the European Union went down 9.5% compared to the same month last year, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA). However, when adding the numbers for the EFTA and the UK, registrations actually went up 0.9%.
In the first 11 months of the year–an arguably more important metric than the monthly numbers–EV registrations in the EU went down 5.4% compared to last year. In the EU, EFTA and UK, registrations went down 1.4%. To date, a total of 1,787,600 EVs were registered in Europe, down from last year’s 1,812,987. Some countries like Germany, France and Romania reduced or removed financial incentives for buying all-electric vehicles this year, and it shows in their registration numbers.
The only power source that saw consistent gains throughout the year is hybrid electric. Last month, hybrid vehicle registrations increased by 16.4% compared to last year. Year-to-date, 3,704,732 hybrids were registered in the EU, EFTA and UK, an 18.7% increase year-on-year.
Plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) went down 8.6% in November, with 83,400 registrations. Year-to-date, PHEVs recorded a decrease of 4.6% with a total of 860,739 units registered. Gas- and diesel-powered cars were also down. Gasoline vehicle registrations declined 12.4% in November and 6.6% after 11 months. Meanwhile, diesel registrations went down 15.4% last month 11.6% year-to-date.
Overall, the European car market, including the EU, EFTA and UK, went down 2% in November. Year-to-date, the market went up a very modest 0.6%, an increase attributed almost entirely to the uptick in hybrid vehicle registrations.
All this being said, probably the most important takeaway is that the market share for both gasoline and diesel cars is shrinking. Eleven months into 2024, gas vehicles have a 33.4% market share, down from 36% last year, while diesel cars have 10.6%, down from 12% last year. All-electric vehicles have a 15.1% market share, down from 15.4% last year. Plug-in hybrids went down from 7.6% last year to 7.2%, while hybrids soared from 26.5% market share in the first 11 months of last year to 31.2% this year.
