The European car market saw a slight improvement in September, but things are still tough. Western Europe (including the UK) registered just over 1.1 million cars, which is 4.2% less than September 2023 and still 13% lower than pre-pandemic levels in 2019.
That said, it's better than summer —August saw a 16.5% drop. The first half of 2024 showed a bit of growth (+4.4%), and from January to September, there were nearly 9.8 million car registrations, up just 1% from last year. But compared to 2019, it’s still down 20.5%, and the future looks uncertain.
The auto association ANFIA predicts that 2024 will end with about 12.7 million cars sold, which would be a slight drop (1.5%) from last year. In September, the UK (+1%) and Spain (+6.3%) did well, thanks to discounts, while Germany, France, and Italy all struggled with 7% to 11% declines.
Most of the cars were bought by companies, and electric vehicles (EVs) had a tough time. EV sales have dropped 5.8% this year, and they now hold 13.1% of the market, down from 14% last year. Plug-in hybrids had an even worse month, down 22.3%. Petrol cars also struggled, with sales down 17.9%, especially in France (-31.9%) and Italy (-23.3%). Petrol cars now make up about 30% of the market, down from 34% last year, and diesel cars saw a big drop too, now making up just 10.4% of sales.
As for brands, Tesla had a great month, selling 31,555 cars in September—up 31.2% from last year. On the flip side, Stellantis had a rough time, with sales dropping 27.1% and losing market share. Other brands like Nissan, Mazda, and Jaguar Land Rover also saw significant declines.
