LONDON (Reuters) – Sales of new cars in the European Union (EU) rose 14.6% in October, driven by registrations of electric and hybrid vehicles, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association said on Tuesday (ACEA).

Sales of fully electric cars increased 36.3% from the previous year and sales of fully hybrid vehicles grew almost 39%.

The EU thus records its 15th consecutive month of sales growth.

Hybrid electric vehicles accounted for nearly three out of ten vehicles sold in the economic bloc.

Fully electric cars represented 14.2% of sales in October, surpassing sales of diesel cars for the third time.

In 2015, diesel models accounted for more than 50% of cars sold in the EU, up from 12% last month.

Over the ten months to October, sales of fully electric cars jumped 53.1%.

Electrified vehicles – fully electric, plug-in hybrid or full hybrid models – accounted for more than 47% of all new individual car registrations in the EU between January and October 2023, compared to 42% in the same period last year , said ACEA.

Still, some automakers, analysts and dealers worry that electric vehicle sales are about to plateau after several years of strong growth as consumers wait for more affordable models to come onto the market.

Sales at Volkswagen, Europe’s largest automaker, rose 9.9% in October, while sales at Stellantis and Renault rose 11.3% and 24.3%, respectively.

Tesla sales jumped almost 150%, accounting for almost 12% of all-electric car sales in the EU.

The number of new vehicles registered in October in the EU, Britain and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) rose 14.1% to 1.04 million units, the company said. ACEA.

(Reporting Nick Carey in London, Gaëlle Sheehan, edited by Blandine Hénault)

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