EU car sales rise for 14th consecutive month, mostly thanks to EVs

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New car sales in the European Union rose 9.2% in September, helped by a jump in sales of electric and hybrid vehicles, which together accounted for more than half of car sales last month, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) announced on Friday.

Sales of fully electric cars rose 14.3% from a year earlier and full hybrid sales were up more than 30%.

The bloc recorded its 14th consecutive month of sales growth. Fully electric cars made up 14.8% of the total sales. Together, fully electric cars, plug-in hybrids and full hybrids accounted for just over 50% of sales, the industry data showed.

Diesel models continued their slide to just 12.5% of sales, down from 15.9% a year earlier. In 2015, diesel vehicles comprised more than 50% of new car sales in the EU.

Europe’s top car seller, German automobile giant Volkswagen, reported a 9.6% increase in sales in September, the ACEA said. Stellantis – which sells brands such as Citroën, Fiat and Peugeot – and Renault saw sales rise 11.3% and 5.1%, respectively.

Car sales in Europe have been recovering from pandemic-related supply chain problems, most notably a global shortage of semiconductor chips. 

Since the beginning of the year, the EU car market has grown substantially (16.9%), totalling eight million registered units. However, this number remains 20% below the same period in 2019, before the pandemic.