European car market expands for 12th consecutive month in July

By Tuba Ongun

ANKARA (AA) – The European passenger car market grew in July for the 12th straight month, an industry group report showed on Wednesday.

New passenger car registrations in the EU rose 15.2% year-on-year to 851,156 units in July, as the 27-member bloc recovers from the last year’s component shortages, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) said in a statement.

Most key EU markets saw a solid yearly hike in the month, including the four largest – France (19.9%), Germany (18.1%), Spain (10.7%), and Italy (8.7%).

New registrations of battery electric cars in the EU hiked 60.6% from 2022 to 115,971 units, bringing its market share to 13.6% in July.

Hybrid-electric cars maintained their position as the second choice among new car buyers, accounting for over a quarter of the market, according to the ACEA.

In the January-July, new car registrations in the EU jumped 17.6% to 6.3 million.

Despite indications of the European automotive industry’s recovery from coronavirus-related supply disruptions, year-to-date volumes are still 22% lower than in 2019, said the statement.