Electric car sales worldwide grow in June

60% of BEV registrations are concentrated in China, while the market in Europe loses 7%

By: Alberto Carmone

Jul 21, 2024 at 3:02am ET

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Electric car registrations continue to grow globally. This is confirmed by figures compiled by the market research company Rho Motion and reported by Reuters, which show a +13% increase in BEV and PHEV sales worldwide in June.

However, a deeper analysis of the situation reveals that more than 60% of all electric cars are sold in China. Similarly, of the 1.4 million PHEVs registered worldwide, as many as 0.86 million are attributable to China alone, where they increased by 25% compared to June 2023.

Europe in decline. USA and Canada focus on PHEVs

Less exciting were the figures from Europe, where monthly sales of electric cars contracted by 7% to around 300,000. Finland, Ireland and the Netherlands recorded the biggest losses, while in Italy there was a 34 per cent jump as a result of government incentives (exhausted within hours).

In the US and Canada, PHEV sales increased by 6 per cent to 0.14 million in the same month. Analyst Charles Lester of Rho Motion commented on the data as follows:

"We can say that 2024 will not see the ambitious growth that some manufacturers were hoping for. We expect around 16.6 million electric cars to be sold in the year as a whole, albeit with significant disparities from market to market.

The struggles of the electric car

The analysis only further highlights a rather complicated period for battery-powered cars, whose growth has progressively slowed in recent months. Among the reasons for this is the fact that some countries have started to stop offering incentives on the purchase of new electric models, which are still economically unviable for many European households.

High interest rates on loans do not help (although the cuts promised by the ECB in the coming months may improve the situation), while many motorists put off buying an electric car while waiting for a new generation of models (and batteries).

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It remains to be seen how the duties imposed by the EU on electric vehicles imported from China will impact the market. While it is true that the 'weight' of these cars in Europe is not yet predominant, it has to be said that the models built in the country of the Dragon are among the most affordable of all.