In March, car sales in the EU recorded a decline, as consumer behavior trends changed.
Not only have electric cars been affected, but the car sales in the EU experienced in March a 5.2% drop compared to last year, which represents the largest decrease since July 2022 and the first of this year, as reported by the Association of European Automobile Manufacturers (ACEA).
Germany suffers the biggest drop in sales in the EU
The decline affected key markets, such as Germany (-6.2%), Spain (-4.7%), Italy (-3.7%) and France (-1.5%). The fall is attributed to the slowdown in the market and the coincidence with the Easter holidays, which had a negative impact on sales.
In March, within the automobile industry, which generates 392.2 billion euros in tax revenue for European governments, there was also a change in preferences for the type of car.
The share of electric cars battery capacity fell to 13% from 13.9% last year, while that of electric hybrids rose to 29% from 24.4%. The combined share of gasoline and diesel fell from 51.8% to 47.8%.
A hopeful first quarter
The first quarter of 2024 closed with a total of 332,999 new battery electric cars registered, which represents a slight increase of 3.8% compared to the same quarter of the previous year.
Challenges associated with electric vehicles include high costs and inadequate charging infrastructure.
An electric car costs twice as much as a conventional one
According to studies by Jato Dynamics, the average sales price of an electric car in Europe is about 65,000 eurosapproximately double that of more traditional models.
“Despite the notable shift towards electric vehicles, many European consumers are not ready to abandon internal combustion cars.
As we see a clearing decline in demand for diesel modelsdrivers are opting for gasoline alternatives, rather than switching to electric,” said JATO Dynamics global analyst, Felipe Munoz.
Although in February the EU voted to approve a new law banning the sale of gasoline and diesel cars by 2035subsidies were reduced in some regions, so the European market is increasingly having to resort to favorable tax regimes for company cars, Bloomberg reports.
