European Demand for Fully Electric Vehicles Slows in 1st Half of 2024, Industry Report Says

A Ford Mustang Mach-e electric vehicle plugged into a charging station in Bilbao, Spain, on Nov. 10, 2023. (Vincent West/Reuters)

European demand for fully electric vehicles has all but stalled, according to a new report from the European Union’s main lobbying and standards group for the automobile industry.

Growth in Europe’s battery-electric car market jumped by 53.8 percent in the first half of 2023 from the same period the previous year, but in the first half of 2024, that previously feverish pace fell to a near-flat 1.3 percent, according to reports from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ECEA).

This means that the 2024 year-to-date battery-electric car sales growth rate in the EU is a whopping 52.5 percentage points lower than in the same period last year.

The tepid year-to-date 1.3 percent pace of growth in the EU’s battery-electric vehicle demand is also significantly lower than the 4.5 percent increase in all new vehicle registrations, according to the latest ACEA report, which was released on July 18.

Registrations of battery-electric cars fell by 1 percent in June 2024 from the same month last year, while plug-in hybrids plunged by 19.9 percent. The only powertrain category to post growth was hybrid-electric vehicles, which saw 26.4 percent year-over-year growth in June.

Demand for diesel and gasoline cars remained relatively stable in June 2024, with gas-powered car registrations falling by 0.7 percent and those of diesel vehicles dropping by 0.9 percent from the same month last year.

The ECEA report dovetails with the recent findings of JATO Dynamics, an automobile market intelligence and analytics firm.

“Europe’s growth is becoming more moderate—still far from levels seen pre-pandemic due to a more complex operating environment, including emissions regulations, increasing prices of vehicles, and barriers facing the adoption of electric cars,” Felipe Munoz, global analyst at JATO Dynamics, said in a statement.

“Since the semi-conductor shortage, electric vehicles have been the main driver of growth.”

The JATO Dynamics July 18 report describes the deceleration in demand for battery-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles as “worrying.”

Cheap electric vehicle imports from China have helped to drive growth in the market, with the recent decision by EU authorities to slap additional tariffs on China-made electric vehicles likely to weigh on demand.

“Without these competitive prices coming from China, consumers will face higher prices, meaning ... demand could fall over the next few months,” Mr. Munoz said.

Different brands of Chinese electric vehicles face different tariff levels, according to a decision published in the EU’s Official Journal. The highest tariffs (37.6 percent) will be imposed on SAIC Group, a Chinese state-owned carmaker, while Geely faces duties of 19.9 percent and BYD 17.4 percent.

The EU decision to impose tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles follows President Joe Biden’s May announcement of the imposition of 100 percent duties on electric vehicles shipped from China—a fourfold increase from the previous 25 percent duty.