European car sales rise 15% in July, EVs up nearly 61%

Jun 03, 2023

A Renault wallbox charging station is used by a Renault Captur hybrid car at a dealership in Les Sorinieres, near Nantes, France, October 23, 2020. Picture taken October 23, 2020. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights

LONDON, Aug 30 (Reuters) - European new car registrations jumped 15.2% in July, the 12th consecutive month of growth as the auto industry recovers from pandemic-related supply chain issues, data from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) showed on Wednesday.

Electric vehicle sales jumped 60.6%, continuing a rise buoyed by subsidies in a number of European Union countries. Full EVs accounted for 13.6% of all new car sales, up from under 10% in July 2022.

Plug-in hybrids, which have both a combustion engine and a large battery, accounted for 7.9% of sales, while one in four vehicles sold in the EU was a full hybrid.

Between them, petrol and diesel engine models made up just under 50% of sales. Diesel vehicles, which alone comprised more than 50% of new car sales as recently as 2015, accounted for just over 14% of sales in July.

Europe's top car seller Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) posted a 17.9% increase in sales in July, the ACEA said, while BMW (BMWG.DE) and Renault (RENA.PA) saw sales rise 22.5% and 16.9% respectively.

But Stellantis (STLAM.MI), which has struggled with logistics problems and car deliveries in Europe, posted a 6.1% drop in sales in July.

Reporting by Nick Carey; editing by Mark Heinrich

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