The electric vehicle market in Europe was a bit of a mixed bag in the first half of 2024, with big winners and big losers. However, the number of registrations for all-electric cars was 2% higher compared to the first half of 2023, with just under 950,000 EVs hitting the streets, according to Jato Dynamics.
That’s not a record-breaking achievement by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s still growth. By comparison, the total number of new car registrations in the 28 European countries covered by Jato (including gasoline, diesel, hybrid, mild-hybrid and plug-in hybrid models) went up 4% in the first half, with a total of 6.85 million cars. In other words, it’s been a tough six months on all fronts in Europe, with lower-than-expected growth. Meanwhile, U.S. sales of EVs went up 7.3% in the first six months.
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Winners and losers in Europe
The EV market is still growing, both in the United States and Europe, despite the alarmist headlines you might have stumbled upon online. Granted, in the first half of this year, European EV registrations only went up 2% compared to the same period last year, but that's still growth. Meanwhile, U.S. sales went up 7.3% despite a huge drop for Tesla, the market leader.
There are some key takeaways from the registration data when it comes to all-electric cars. First, the ever-popular Tesla Model Y was still the best-selling EV on the continent, with a little over 100,000 units registered. However, it also recorded a massive 26% drop compared to the same period last year. Its refreshed sedan brother, the Model 3, ranked second, with a 37% increase in registrations.
Meanwhile, Chinese-made EVs such as the Volvo EX30 and MG4 were on the rise. Chinese-based Geely Group, which owns Volvo, Polestar and Lotus, among others, recorded an increase in EV registrations by 52%, thus outselling Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz and Renault Group in the first half of the year in Europe.
BYD, the largest automaker in China, registered 17,000 electric cars, a whopping 14,000 more than in H1 2023, outselling EVs from brands such as Nissan, Smart, Toyota, Polestar, Citroen, Dacia, Ford, Mini, Porsche and Mazda.
Smaller Chinese automakers didn’t make a huge dent in the grand scheme of things, but their growth was significant percentage-wise. XPeng registered 2,215 EVs compared to just 51 in the first half of last year. Great Wall Motor had a volume of 2,123 units, double compared to last year. Zeekr sold zero cars in H1 2023 but went up to 821 this year.
“It’s clear that China has significantly helped to drive growth in the market,“ said Felipe Munoz, Global Analyst at JATO Dynamics. “Without these competitive prices coming from China, consumers will face higher prices, meaning we could see demand could fall over the next few months.”
Volkswagen Group was the biggest player in the European electric car market, with 178,000 units registered in H1, but its dominance might come to an end, seeing that its volume was 14% lower than last year. At the same time, BMW Group was on the rise, securing almost 10% of the market share in the EV sector, up from 7.5% last year.
Top 10 EVs in Europe in the first half of 2024 based on registration numbers:
10. Audi Q4
- 24,456 units (+9% compared to H1 2023)
9. BMW iX1
- 24,506 units (+53%)
8. Volvo EX40
- 25,223 units (-5%)
7. Skoda Enyaq
- 25,248 units (-2%)
6. Volkswagen ID.3
- 29,136 units (-17%)
5. Volkswagen ID.4
- 29,146 units (-30%)
4. MG MG4
- 31,922 units (+4%)
3. Volvo EX30
- 36,980 units (new)
2. Tesla Model 3
- 58,400 units (+37%)
1. Tesla Model Y
- 101,181 units (-26%)
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