New car registrations: +10.1% in February 2024; battery electric 12% market share

In February 2024, the EU car market surged by 10.1% compared to the same month last year, reaching 883,608 units. Among the four major EU markets, France (+13%) and Italy (+12.8%) grew by double-digits, with Spain (+9.9%) and Germany (+5.4%) following.

In the first two months of this year, car registrations grew by 11.2% to 1.7 million units. The bloc’s major markets recorded solid growth, with Germany (+11.8%), Italy (+11.7%), France (+11.2%), and Spain (+8.7%) recording high single-digit or double-digit gains.

New EU car registrations by power source

In February, battery-electric cars held a market share of 12% (stable compared to February 2023), while hybrid-electric cars captured nearly 29%. The combined market share of petrol and diesel cars was 48.4% in February 2024, a decrease from 51.9% last year.

Electric cars

In February 2024, battery-electric car sales grew by a modest 9% to 106,187 units, maintaining a stable market share of 12%. Among the four largest markets, Belgium (+66.9%), France (+31.8%), and the Netherlands (+20.9%) saw significant double-digit gains, while registrations in Germany declined by 15.4%.

Sales of new hybrid-electric cars surged by 24.7%, driven by substantial growth in the four largest markets: France (+41.5%), Spain (+26.5%), Germany (+16.4%), and Italy (+16.1%), which collectively account for over 70% of EU sales. Sales totalled 255,511, accounting for 28.9% of the market.

Registrations of plug-in hybrid electric cars also increased by a notable 11.6% to 64,351 units, stemming from solid growth in key markets like Germany (+22.3%), Belgium (+21.8%), and France (+11.8%). Plug-in hybrid electric cars now represent 7.3% of EU car sales.

Petrol and diesel cars

In February 2024, the EU petrol car market expanded by 6.1%, primarily driven by increases in the four largest markets, notably in Italy (+33.4%), along with Spain (+3.7%), Germany (+2.3%), and France (+2.1%). Although petrol remains the most popular power source among buyers, its market share dropped from 36.9% to 35.5% this year. By contrast, the EU diesel car market contracted by 5.1% in February. A decline was recorded in several markets, including three of the largest: France (-30.5%), Spain (-17.4%), and Italy (-11.8%). Germany diverged from this trend, with diesel sales growing by 9.7%. Diesel car sales reached 113,891 units, accounting for a market share of 12.9%, down from 15% last year.  

New EU car sales rose 10.1% in February 2024, with the battery-electric market share remaining stable at 12%. Petrol models retained their lead as the most popular choice for buyers, followed by hybrid-electric. Diesel sales dropped in most major markets, except Germany.