Investing.com -- European car sales experienced a slight increase of 0.9% in 2024, driven primarily by a substantial growth in hybrid car registrations, according to data by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association ( ACEA (BIT:ACE)).
The data revealed that hybrid car registrations outpaced petrol ones for the fourth month in a row in December.
Renault (EPA:RENA) managed to surpass Stellantis (NYSE:STLA) in terms of market share in Europe for the first time since the Franco-Italian conglomerate was established in January 2021, according to ACEA.
Sales in the European Union, Britain, and the European Free Trade Area (EFTA) saw a 4.1% year-on-year increase in December, with 1.1 million cars being sold. Volkswagen (ETR:VOWG_p) and Renault saw their registrations grow by 4.9% and 16.6% respectively, while Stellantis recorded a 6.7% drop.
Renault's market share in Europe climbed to 11.9%, while Stellantis' slipped to 11.6%.
In the EU, December sales saw a 5.1% increase. Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) saw their registrations increase by 33.1% and 4.9% respectively. However, the registrations of fully electric cars (BEVs) fell by 10.2%.
Electrified vehicles, which include BEV, HEV, or PHEV, made up 57.7% of passenger car registrations in December, up from 53.3% in the previous year.
Among the largest EU markets, Spain led the way with a 28.8% increase in sales. On the other hand, Germany and Italy saw their sales continue to decline, by 7.1% and 4.9% respectively.
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