Europe New-Car Sales Rose 21% in August, EVs Take 20% of Market Share

By David Sachs

New car registrations in Europe rose in August and the share of fully-electric car sales exceeded 20% for the first time, the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association said Wednesday.

Registrations, which reflect sales, rose 21% to 787,626 in August compared with a year ago, according to the industry group, known as ACEA. Sales rose 18% to 7.1 million for the period of January through August, ACEA said, but registrations trail the 9 million units sold in the comparable period in 2019, before the pandemic.

The thirteenth consecutive month of growth indicates the market is rebounding from last year's component shortages, ACEA said.

Fully-electric vehicle sales totaled 165,165, more than doubling since a year ago, ACEA said.

German car maker Volkswagen had around 209,500 registrations, a jump of 21% from last August, ACEA said. Registrations for Stellantis, the Amsterdam-based maker of Jeep and Dodge, rose 6.4% to around 131,500. Sales of France's Renault rose 22% to about 74,900. German car maker Mercedes-Benz saw registrations grow 13% to around 42,900, and BMW Group saw a 22.5% rise to around 55,500.

Most EU markets experienced double-digit percentage gains, including Spain, Italy, France and Germany, ACEA said. The industry group said August is typically a slower month for car sales.

Write to David Sachs at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 20, 2023 08:22 ET (12:22 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.