New car registrations: +0.8% in 2024; battery-electric 13.6% market share

In 2024, new car registrations rose slightly, increasing by 0.8% to around 10.6 million units. Spain continued to show resilience with a solid 7.1% growth rate. In contrast, declines were observed in France (-3.2%), Germany (-1%), and Italy, with a slight drop of 0.5%.

In December 2024, new EU car registrations rose by 5.1%. Spain led the way with a robust double-digit 28.8% increase, followed by France with a modest 1.5% rise. However, among the four largest EU markets, declines were observed in Germany (-7.1%) and Italy (-4.9%).

New EU car registrations by power source

Battery-electric cars remained the third-most-popular choice for buyers in 2024. In December, their market share stood at 15.9%, contributing to a 13.6% share for the full year, again surpassing diesel, which declined to 11.9%. Petrol cars retained their lead at 33.3%, while hybrid-electric cars strengthened their second position, commanding a 30.9% market share.

Electric cars

Registrations of battery-electric cars fell by 10.2% to 144,367 units in December 2024. This decline was primarily driven by a significant decrease in registrations in Germany (-38.6%) and France (-20.7%), leading to a 5.9% decrease in market volume for 2024 compared to 2023. As a result, the total market share for battery-electric cars stood at 13.6% for 2024.

Plug-in hybrid car registrations rose by 4.9% last month, driven by significant increases in France (44.9%) and Germany (6.8%). In December, plug-in hybrids accounted for 8.3%, maintaining the same level as the previous year. However, year-total volumes for 2024 were down by 6.8% compared to 2023.

Hybrid-electric registrations increased by 33.1% in December, with market share rising to 33.6%, up from 26.5% last December, exceeding petrol car registrations for the fourth consecutive month.

Petrol and diesel cars

In December 2024, petrol car registrations dropped by 1.8%, with all major markets showing declines except Spain, which saw an increase of 16%. France experienced the steepest drop, with registrations plummeting by 23%, followed by Italy with an 11.4% decline. Germany also recorded a decrease of 7.4%. With 269,260 new cars registered last month, the market share for petrol dropped to 29.6%, down from 31.6% in the same month last year. The diesel car market declined by 15%, resulting in a 9.8% market share for diesel vehicles last December. Overall, double-digit declines were observed in most EU markets.

About ACEA

• The European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) represents the 16 major Europe-based car, van, truck and bus makers: BMW Group, DAF Trucks, Daimler Truck, Ferrari, Ford of Europe, Honda Motor Europe, Hyundai Motor Europe, Iveco Group, JLR, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Renault Group, Stellantis, Toyota Motor Europe, Volkswagen Group, and Volvo Group
• Visit www.acea.auto for more information about ACEA, and follow us on www.twitter.com/ACEA_auto or www.linkedin.com/company/ACEA/
• Contact: Pamela Kotzapasis, Publications Manager, [email protected]

About the EU automobile industry

• 13.2 million Europeans work in the automotive sector
• 10.3% of all manufacturing jobs in the EU
• €383.7 billion in tax revenue for European governments
• €106.7 billion trade surplus for the European Union
• Over 7.5% of EU GDP generated by the auto industry
• €72.8 billion in R&D spending annually, 33% of EU total