(AFP / JOEL SAGET)
The French, Italian and Spanish markets notably posted double-digit increases compared to 2022, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) announced on Thursday.
Great progress, after three complicated years. In 2023, new car sales will
rebounded by 13.9% in Europe,
driven by hybrid and electric models, but also by gasoline cars. Deliveries have resumed and orders are being fulfilled, but
we remain far from pre-Covid levels.
The market remained generally sluggish in 2023, slowed by inflation, particularly towards the end of the year.
In detail, the markets
French, Italian and Spanish
notably posted double-digit increases compared to 2022, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) announced on Thursday.
Germany
marked a halt in December (-23% over one year) with the sudden end of purchase bonuses for electric cars. But the continent’s largest market will still grow by 7.3% in 2023. Hybrid cars have primarily benefited from the recovery, with
more than 2.7 million units sold (+29.5% over one year),
now capturing more than a quarter of the market (25.8%).
Near the EU,
hybrids have also boosted the British market,
which recovered by 17.9% compared to 2022, with 1.9 million new cars sold last year. Plug-in hybrids, these vehicles equipped with a thermal engine and a small rechargeable electric battery on a terminal, saw their sales decline for the first time, to 813,000 units (-7%), affected by the withdrawal of subsidies in many countries.
Electric cars overtake diesel for the first time in an entire year
Electric cars continued their conquest (+37% over one year). With a 14.6% market share, they
exceed diesel for the first time over an entire year (13.6%),
which continues to decline. Battery cars accounted for only 9.1% of sales in 2021 and 1.9% in 2019.
The American electric pioneer Tesla notably saw its sales
almost double in Europe in 2023.
With 279,000 cars sold and its gigantic SUV factory near Berlin, it overtakes historic manufacturers like Volvo or Nissan. As the
sale of new thermal engine cars will be banned in Europe in 2035,
all automobile groups have strengthened their offering of hybrid and electric cars.
The year 2024 should be marked by the arrival of cheaper battery models, such as the Citroën ë-C3 and the new Renault 5 priced around 25,000 euros, as well as models from Chinese competitors such as MG and BYD. However, gasoline cars are not beaten: they remain
market leader
and were also able to benefit from its rebound in 2023 (+10.6% over one year), particularly in Italy, Germany, France and Belgium. They represent 35.3% of European sales, with 3.7 million units.
The rebound of the European market was
driven by its leader, the Volkswagen group,
with 2.8 million cars sold (+18% over one year), and by the Renault group, number three in sales with 1.2 million units (+16.9%). European number two, Stellantis, remained closer to its 2022 figures, with 1.9 million cars sold (+2.9%) and declines for its Fiat and Citroën brands in particular.