The Zhitong Finance App learned that the latest data released by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) shows that new car sales in the European Union increased 13.7% year-on-year in April, mainly driven by strong growth in major markets such as Spain (+23.1%), Germany (+19.8%), France (+10.9%), and Italy (+7.7%). According to the data, the number of new car registrations in the EU reached 913,995 vehicles in April. In the first four months of 2024 (January to April), the total number of new car registrations in the EU increased by about 6.6% to about 3.7 million units, with the biggest market growing steadily.

In April, the number of new registrations of pure electric vehicles in Europe increased by 14.8% to 108,552 units, and the market share remained stable at around 12%. Among them, France and Belgium increased sharply by 45.2% and 41.6%, respectively, while demand for pure electric power in Germany remained stable (-0.2%).

Judging from statistics from January to April this year, the EU has a total of 441,992 newly registered battery-electric vehicles during this period, an increase of 6.4% over the same period last year. At the same time, hybrid electric vehicles also showed strong growth data. The number of new hybrid vehicle registrations in Europe increased by 33.1% in April alone. The largest markets in this segment were France (+48.1%), Spain (+38.5%), Germany (+25.9%), and Italy (+22.8%), all of which recorded double-digit growth rates. The total number of new car registrations reached 265,992. This also increased the market share of hybrid electric vehicles in the EU from 24.9% in April 2023 to the latest 29.1%. However, the market share of traditional fuel vehicles fell to 36% from 38% in April 2023, while the market share of diesel vehicles continued to be 13%.

According to the total number of new car registrations, so far this year (from January to April), the market share leader for newly registered cars in the EU (including all car types) is the German automobile giant Volkswagen Group (up to 25.7%). The subsequent rankings are: Stellantis (Stellantis) with 18.4%, Renault Group with 10.5%, Toyota with 8.1%, BMW with 6.5%, Mercedes-Benz with 5.0%, Hyundai with 3.9%, Ford with 3.0%, and Volvo with 3.0% 2.8%, Nissan's share is 2.2%, Tesla's share is 2.1%, and Mazda's share is 1.3%.

Notably, global electric vehicle leader Tesla's market share in Europe declined slightly this year, according to ACEA's latest registration data. The electric car maker registered only 13,951 vehicles in April, down 2.3% year over year, the worst record since January 2023. In contrast, overall sales of electric vehicles in the EU increased 14% in the same month. In the UK, which has already left the European Union, Tesla's new car registrations also fell 25% in April, and fell 14% in the first four months of this year.

According to reports, in recent months, many European countries, including Germany and Sweden, have stopped or abolished high subsidies for electric vehicles, which has hindered the growth of pure electric vehicle sales in the European market. Meanwhile, established European car manufacturers, including Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz, have been reconsidering their plans for hybrid or fuel vehicles. Among them, Volkswagen is preparing to produce more plug-in hybrid cars, while Mercedes will continue to produce fuel vehicles until 2030.

Currently, Wall Street analysts' overall views on electric vehicle demand are rapidly deteriorating. This is reflected in Tesla's stock ratings. Tesla's Wall Street generally rated only “hold”. In comparison, tech giants such as Microsoft and Google all have “strong buying” ratings; mainly because the signs of slowing electric vehicle sales growth under high interest rate pressure are becoming more and more prominent, and incentives from governments around the world are drying up.