The first nine months of 2024 saw new car registrations remain relatively stable. Credit: Roman Zaiets/Shutterstock.

Europe’s auto industry body, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (Acea), has reported that the European car market saw hybrid vehicles overtake petrol in terms of market share in September 2024.

This shift occurred even as new car registrations in the EU continued to decline, falling by 6.1%.

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The downward trend in new car registrations was observed across three of the region’s four major markets, with France experiencing an 11.1% drop, Italy seeing a 10.7% decline and the German market shrinking by 7%. Conversely, Spain jumped the trend with a 6.3% increase.

The first nine months of 2024 saw new car registrations remain relatively stable, with a slight 0.6% increase, almost reaching eight million units. Spain and Italy recorded positive growth rates of 4.7% and 2.1%, respectively, while the French and German markets saw declines.

Battery-electric cars made up 17.3% of the EU car market in September, a rise from 14.8% the previous year.

However, the year-to-date volumes for these vehicles dropped by 5.8%, with market share decreasing to 13.1% from 14%. Germany, in particular, experienced a significant 28.6% decrease.

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Plug-in hybrid car registrations also fell by 22.3% in September, with declines across all major markets. These vehicles accounted for 6.8% of the car market, down from 8.2% in the same month last year, with 54,889 units sold.

Hybrid-electric vehicles, on the other hand, saw a 12.5% increase in registrations in September, commanding a 32.8% market share, up from 27.4% in September 2023, and surpassing petrol cars in the process.

Petrol car sales declined by 17.9% in September, with all key markets recording double-digit drops. The market share for petrol cars fell to 29.8%, down from 34% the previous year.

Diesel cars also saw a market share decrease to 10.4% after a 23.5% drop in registrations, with two-thirds of EU markets experiencing declines.