EVs, SUVs and Chinese-made cars are no longer main drivers of growth

Growth in Europe’s new car market was driven mainly by demand for B-hatchbacks and compact cars as opposed to EVs, SUVs and Chinese-made cars, says JATO Dynamics.

April was a positive month with a total of 1,080,517 new vehicles registered, an increase of 12.6% compared with the same month last year. A total of 4,461,734 new units have been registered so far in 2024, a rise of 6.7% at the same point last year.

The market share of BEVs increased by just 0.3 percentage points to 13.4% while monthly registrations rose by 15%. The figure is lower than the monthly increases recorded last year.

Felipe Munoz, global analyst at Jato Dynamics, said: “The electric car market is not performing as well as it was this time last year.

“This is largely due to the ongoing price cuts which has raised concerns among consumers over the residual value of EVs and uncertainty as to how prices will evolve in the coming months.”

BYD registered 2,746 units, outperforming Cupra, Nissan and Toyota to become the 15th best-selling brand in the BEV rankings.

The overall market share of Chinese car brands in Europe increased from 2.22% in April 2023 to 2.35% in the same month this year.

Munoz noted: “Although there is lots of noise around the arrival of Chinese car brands in Europe, they are still something of a rarity – evidenced by the slow uptick in registrations over the past year.

“MG, a brand that many still associate with the West, accounted for two in three registrations of Chinese-made vehicles.”

The market share of SUVs dropped from 51.3% in April 2023 to 51.1% in April 2024. Registrations only increased by 12% YoY. Data indicates that the market share of the category could reach its peak in the near future.

Audi, Ford, Kia, Renault and Skoda struggled in April while BMW, Hyundai, Mercedes, Toyota, Volkswagen and Volvo gained market share.