New car registrations across the EU fell by 19.3% in February, according to the latest data from European Automobile Manufacturers Association (Acea).
Attributed to the persistent Covid-19 restrictions and resulting uncertainty, only 771,486 units were registered across the region – the lowest February total on record since 2013.
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Within the four major EU markets, Spain registered the most significant drop of 38.4% in new car registrations, followed by France with 20.9% and Germany with 19%. Italy posted the smallest drop of 12.3% of new car registrations.
Including additional data from January 2021, total registrations of new cars in the EU declined by 21.7% year-on-year. Within the four major markets, once again, Spain suffered the greatest loss with a decline of 44.6% compared to 2020. Germany followed with a loss of 25.1%, whilst France and Italy recorded smaller decreases of 14.2% and 13.1% respectively.
Having left the EU, the British car market also declined by 35.5% in February, falling only slightly behind Spain, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
With UK-based showrooms closed since 5 January – and in many parts of the country since December – both private and fleet sector demand fell, by 37.3% and 33.5% respectively.
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By GlobalDataConversely, plug-in vehicles continued to enjoy growth, with BEVs and PHEVs taking a combined 13% market share for the month, up from just 5.7% in February 2020.
BEV uptake increased by 40.2% to 3,516 and PHEVs by 52.1% to 3,131, as the industry continues to promote a broad range of lower-emission technologies for consumers.
In response to the growing popularity of EVs, countries are racing to get the necessary infrastructure up to speed.
According to LeasePlan’s 2021 EV Readiness Index, across the EU almost all countries have demonstrated an improvement in EV readiness when compared with the previous year.
The index, which presents an analysis of the preparedness of all 22 European countries for the societal transition to EVs.
As EVs becomes increasingly accessible from a cost perspective, the issue of charging infrastructure has taken its place as the major hurdle for widespread EV adoption.
The Netherlands, Norway and the UK all retained their status as the top three most prepared countries for an EV revolution across Europe.
