by Greta Rosen Fondahn and Alessandro Parodi
(Reuters) – Sales of new cars in the European Union rose 4.3% in June, their highest since July 2019, led by a rebound in major markets – Italy, Germany and Spain – data from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) showed on Thursday.
In contrast, registrations of vehicles equipped with an electric battery fell sharply last month in the community bloc, with ACEA indicating that sales increases in Belgium (+50.4%) and Italy (+117.4%) were not enough to compensate for double-digit declines in Germany, the Netherlands and France.
Major European carmakers are betting on growth in car sales throughout the year, despite slowing demand for electric vehicles after years of strong growth and warnings about the outlook for the global market.
According to ACEA data, sales of battery electric vehicles in the EU fell by 1% year-on-year in June, while those of plug-in vehicles fell by 19.9%. In contrast, sales of hybrid vehicles rose by 26.4% year-on-year last month.
In the first half of the year, registrations of electric vehicles in the community bloc recorded an increase of 1.3%.
Sales of electrified cars – electric, plug-in hybrid or full hybrid – accounted for 50% of new passenger vehicle registrations in June in the EU, up from 47.5% a year earlier.
The three main European manufacturers, Volkswagen, Stellantis and Renault, saw their sales increase by 4.7%, 0.4% and 6.2% respectively last month.
(Greta Rosen Fondahn and Alessandro Parodi; Jean Terzian)
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