New EU car registrations drop 1.9% in November

In November 2024, new EU car registrations fell by 1.9%, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA). France led the way with a sharp 12.7% decline, followed by Italy (-10.8%), while the German market stagnated slightly (0.5%). Among the four most significant EU markets, only Spain recorded positive growth (6.4%).

Eleven months into 2024, new car registrations remained stable (+0.4%), reaching 9.7 million units. While the market in Spain performed positively (+5.1%), declines were witnessed in France (-3.7%), Germany (-0.4%), and Italy (-0.2%).

New EU car registrations by power source

The battery-electric car market share for November 2024 fell to 15% from 16.3% last year, while volumes dropped by 9.5%.

Plug-in hybrid car registrations for November 2024 also declined by 8.8%. The market share for this type of vehicle reached 7.6% last month, a decrease of 0.6 percentage points compared to the same period last year.

Electric cars

Registrations of battery-electric cars declined by 9.5% to 130,757 units in November 2024. This drop was primarily driven by a significant decrease in registrations in Germany (-21.8%) and France (-24.4%). It resulted in a year-to-date market volume 5.4% lower than the same period last year, with the total market share now at 13.4%.

Plug-in hybrid car registrations fell by 8.8% last month, following significant declines in France (-19.6%), Belgium (-61.4%), and Italy (-31.4%). In November, plug-in hybrids accounted for 7.6% of the car market, down from 8.1% last year. Year-to-date volumes were also down, decreasing by 8% compared to the same period last year.

Hybrid-electric registrations increased by 18.5% in November, with market share rising to 33.2%, up from 27.5% last November, exceeding petrol car registrations for the third consecutive month.

Petrol and diesel cars

In November 2024, petrol car sales dropped by 7.8%. All four major markets recorded decreases: France experienced the steepest drop, with registrations plummeting by 31.5%, followed by Italy with a 12.3% decline. Though more modest, Germany and Spain recorded declines as well (-5.4% and -2.3%, respectively).

With 266,115 new cars registered last month, the market share for petrol dropped to 30.6%, down from 32.5% in the same month last year.

The diesel car market declined by 15.3%, resulting in a 10.6% market share last November. Overall, decreases were observed in most EU markets.