Europe Car Registrations Surge 28.8% In March: ACEA

(RTTNews) - European passenger car registrations signaled further strong expansion at the end of the first quarter amid sharp increases in the four major markets and the ever rising demand for electric cars, monthly data from the Brussels-based European Automobile Manufacturers' Association, or ACEA, showed on Wednesday.

New car sales in the European Union rose 28.8 percent year-on-year in March following an 11.5 percent growth in February, the Brussels-based ACEA said.

The number of units sold totaled 1,087,937 in March versus 844,819 units in the corresponding month last year.

Battery electric car registrations logged a massive annual growth of 58.0 percent to reach 151,573 units in March.

In March, hybrid cars increased their market share to 24.3 percent and battery electric cars to 13.9 percent.

That said, petrol cars continued to maintain the largest market share at 37.5 percent despite the shift to more sustainable models.

Among the four major markets, all logged double-digit annual growth in March. Spain logged the biggest gain in sales with a 66.1 percent surge, followed by Italy with a 40.7 percent expansion.

During the first quarter of this year, new car registrations grew 17.9 percent compared to last year. The total car sales were 2,650,711 in the March quarter, up from 2,247,580 a year ago.

Spain logged the strongest sales in the first quarter, at 44.5 percent. Sales in Italy rose 26.2 percent, and those in the French market grew 15.2 percent. Meanwhile, the German car market indicated a comparatively smaller increase of 6.5 percent.

Following a negative growth rate in the first two months of 2023, the plug-in hybrid market in the EU grew by 4.3 percent in March due to improved sales in three of the four largest markets, the ACEA said.