European new BEV sales hit 1mn in July

Cumulative new BEV registrations across the 31 countries of the EU+Efta+UK bloc moved into seven figures in July, according to the most recent data from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, or Acea. Year-on-year, BEV sales are up by over 47pc.

Growth in new ICE sales continues to be sluggish by comparison, with volumes of gasoline diesel cars sold standing a mere 8pc higher (see Fig.1). For a second consecutive month, sales of EVS of all hues (BEVs, PHEVs and HEVs) outstripped those of ICEs in July, albeit by just 1,220 compared to almost 19,000 in June.

Fig.1: ICE growth is sluggish compared to BEVs

BEVs continued to outsell diesels, with almost 150,000 units shifted where diesel sales were under 130,000. This marks the fifth consecutive month where all-electric cars in Europe have outsold the ICE fuel (see Fig.2).

Fig.2: Five months in a row where diesels have lost out to new BEV sales

HEV demand remained firm, with cumulative sales for 2023 so far closing in on 2mn. In contrast, the first seven months of last year saw only just over 1.5mn HEVs sold (see Fig.3).

Fig.3: Cumulative HEV sales in 2023 approaching the 2mn mark

In terms of individual countries, perhaps the most notable milestone in July was achieved in Belgium, where cumulative BEV sales topped 50,000. While this is still small in absolute terms — Germany saw almost 49,000 new BEVs sold in July alone and Belgium is only Europe’s seventh-largest national market for the vehicles — by the same time last year, the country had seen less than 20,000 sales.

Other countries that continue to record annual growth of over 100pc include Denmark and Portugal, while the Netherlands — Europe’s fourth-largest national BEV market after the ‘big three of Germany, the UK and France — is maintaining year-on-year growth at over 90pc.