Slackened EV Demand Slashes European Car Sales

Demand for electric vehicles fell to a seven-year low in August, pushing down overall new-vehicle sales to the lowest level in more than two years.

Registrations of battery-electric vehicles, or purely electric models, fell 36% year-over-year to 125,000 units, according to Jato Dynamics, which gathered sales data for 28 markets on the continent. That’s the biggest decline in the segment since EV registration recording started in January 2017, according to the company.

The decline brought down EVs’ European market share from about 22% to 17% year-over-year, Jato Dynamics said, and also cut overall new-vehicle sales by 16% year-over-year to about 900,000 units, the steepest decline since June 2022.

“Buyers are still grappling with the pressure to make the switch to electric, and EVs continue to be more expensive than already-pricey combustion engine cars,” said Jato Global Analyst Felipe Munoz in a press release on the monthly results.

Year to date, new-vehicle registrations are up just about 2% year-over-year. “If this trend continues, the end-of-year results could present an overall decline in vehicle registrations,” Munoz said.

Reasons for lower EV demand are varied, but Jato cited higher sticker prices, low residual value, and confusion over incentives.

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