EV sales make up 6.9% of market
The European car market stabilised in April 2019, thanks in part to a rise in EV sales, after an extended period of decline.
In total 1.34 million vehicles were registered – the same number as in April 2018, when the market posted its highest April volume of the last 10 years. The year to date figures show the overall market has dropped by 2.5%, with 5.47 million registrations recorded so far in 2019.
Looking at the breakdown by countries in April, the strong results in Spain, Italy, Poland and Switzerland offset the declines posted in the UK, Germany, Benelux, where the market was down by 2.4%, and Scandinavia, where the market was down by 13.5%.
The commanding position of gasoline cars and the double-digit growth posted by electrified cars made up for a 12% drop in diesel registrations. With the exception of Germany and Croatia, diesel registrations fell everywhere in Europe. Year to date figures show diesel’s volume has dropped by 15% during the first four months of 2019, counting for 32.5% of the total market.
Meanwhile, electrified car registrations continued to grow in April, as they totalled 91,200 units and made up 6.9% of the total market. This was largely due to an increase in demand for pure electric cars, where registrations increased by 71% to 22,900 units.
