The European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) announced on Thursday that new car registrations in Europe saw an increase in October, following two months of decreases. This milestone was marked by a 1.1 percent rise in new car sales, which countered the 6.1 percent drop reported in September.
Spain and Germany were significant contributors to this rebound, with Spanish registrations experiencing a 7.2 percent rise compared to the previous year, and German sales increasing by 6 percent, breaking a three-month dip.
Conversely, France's car market suffered a notable decline of 11.1 percent, and Italy saw a reduction of 9.1 percent in sales.
In terms of market dynamics, battery-electric vehicles maintained their market share at 14.4 percent in October, with a sales growth of 2.4 percent. However, registrations of plug-in hybrid cars dropped by 7.2 percent, largely due to marked decreases observed in France and Italy.
Hybrid-electric vehicles, on the other hand, experienced a remarkable surge, with registrations jumping 17.5 percent and capturing a 33.3 percent share of the market.
Petrol-powered vehicle sales declined by 6.8 percent overall, with France witnessing a sharp decline of 32.7 percent. Petrol vehicles now represent 30.8 percent of the market, compared to 33.4 percent in the same period last year. The diesel segment also declined by 7.6 percent, with its market share dipping to 10.9 percent in October.
For the period from January to October, overall car registrations grew modestly by 0.7 percent, totaling 8.9 million units. The Spanish and Italian markets showed positive growth trends, whereas France and Germany reported declines in this period, according to the data.
