New car sales in the European Union (EU) registered a ninth consecutive month of growth in April of 17.2% compared to April 2022, although they remain more than 20% above their pre-pandemic levels since the start of the year . ,
The Association of European Automobile Manufacturers (ACEA) reported on Wednesday that private vehicle registrations in the 27 European Union countries rose to slightly more than 803,000 last month.
The bloc’s automobile market began to grow rapidly in August 2022, adding to a shortage of electronic components, after slowing brutally from the Covid-19 health crisis.
From January to April, sales grew by 17.8% year-on-year, driven by Spain (+33.7%) and Italy (+26.9%).
But “despite this year-on-year improvement, sales are down 22.8% compared to the same period in 2019, reflecting the continuing difficulties of the European automotive market,” ACEA said.
Electric vehicles continued to gain ground and in April they represented 11.8% of units sold in the European bloc, up 1.7 percentage points over the first four months of 2022.
In late March, the European Union approved an end to the sale of cars with combustion engines by 2035.
Nevertheless, gasoline-powered cars continue to lead in new registrations (38.2% of the total), followed by hybrids (fuel-electric, 24.8% of the total).
By brands, German multinational Volkswagen established itself as the biggest car seller in the European Union with 26.1% of the market (+1.5 percentage points compared to April 2022), its Czech brands Škoda and Cupra, with sports versions of Mobility Thank you for the Spanish seat.
In second place is French-Italian-American conglomerate Stellantis (born from the merger of Peugeot-Citroen and Fiat-Crysler), with 19.2% of the market (-1.2% year-on-year). Sales of the Alfa Romeo brand belonging to this group increased by 145.6%, thanks to its new models.
In third place is French Renault, with 10.9% (+1 percentage point) of the European market, supported by the dynamism of cost-adjusted cars, such as the Dacia, whose sales volume increased by 42.3%.
At the bottom of the unit sales list, US Tesla’s benefited from the allure of electric cars and grew 112.4% compared to April last year, surpassing the market shares of Volvo and Nissan.
