EVs drive European new car sales in April, SUV share rises to 51 percent

Continuing the trend prevailing in Europe, demand for electric vehicles remains on the upswing. April 2023 saw European new passenger cars sales total 960,191 units – an increase of 16%, marking the ninth consecutive month of growth. While EVs secured the highest market share for April with 13%, SUVs continued to have a record market share.

The positive results last month are largely due to the increasing demand for BEVs (battery electric vehicles). According to JATO Dynamics’ data for 28 European markets, these vehicles represented 13% of the total volume – an increase of almost three percentage points compared to April 2022.

According to Felipe Munoz, global analyst at JATO Dynamics, “These results are directly related to the easing of supply chain pressures which has increased the availability of new cars. On top of this, demand has continued to rise in response to the push from OEMs to widen their EV offering.”

Munoz added: “Tesla and MG fuelled the growth of BEVs last month. Consumers appear to be responding well to wider competitive offers and good deals presented by the two OEMs.”

Volkswagen Group led the BEV rankings with an increase in registrations of 98% to almost 31,900 units – more than double the 14,200 units registered by Tesla – up by 865%. Stellantis followed in second place but lost ground due to a significantly smaller increase in BEV volumes of just 5%. Geely, and the remaining Chinese manufacturers combined, also performed well registering a total 8,334 and 7,114 units respectively. Stellantis, Volkswagen Group, and Geely also led in registrations of PHEVs (plug-in hybrid electric vehicles). Demand for these vehicles remained stable with a total of 71,960 registered units.

Marginal market share for Chinese-made cars

In April 2023, vehicles manufactured in China accounted for just 3.4% of all new vehicle sales with a total of nearly 32,000 units. This figure includes vehicles produced by Chinese OEMs and vehicles produced by Western OEMs in China such as the BMW iX3, Smart, Polestar, Dacia Spring, and Citroën C5 X. Munoz commented: “In contrast to the emerging narrative, China’s carmakers are gaining traction less quickly than many have predicted. While analysts anticipated a more dramatic untick in demand, there remains a need to increase awareness and shift perceptions for these vehicles to become popular with consumers.”

SUVs growth continues, hits a new high

SUV sales totalled just over 492,000 units to reach a record market share of 51.3% – an increase of 0.7 percentage points when compared with April 2022. Volkswagen Group, Stellantis, and Hyundai-Kia dominated the segment. The SUV model ranking was led by the Volkswagen T-Roc, Toyota Yaris Cross, Dacia Duster, Kia Sportage, and Hyundai Tucson.

The Dacia Sandero led the overall model ranking with almost 18,700 units – an increase of 44%. The hatchback was the most-registered car in Belgium and Ireland, and the second most-registered in Portugal and Spain. Dacia also saw a 147% increase in registrations of the Jogger with a total of 7,237 units, boosting the brand’s total volume by 44%.

Further down the ranking, the Tesla Model Y occupied the 17th position with 10,600 registered units, retaining its’ position as the most registered vehicle year-to-date. Registrations of the MG ZS increased by 125% to 6,930 units, whilst the Volkswagen ID.4 and Renault Megane rose by 125% and 157% respectively. Among the latest launches, Renault registered 6,135 units of the Austral, while MG registered 4,174 units of the MG 4 – the sixth bestselling BEV in April. Alfa Romeo registered 3,235 units of the Tonale, accounting for 71% of the brand’s total volume. BMW registered 2,355 units of the iX1 – the brand’s second best-selling BEV behind the i4.