New sales in Europe: Toyota closes in on Volkswagen

Automakers sold more than 12 percent more passenger cars in January, reports European trade association Acea. Electric cars gained market share, despite the disappearance of subsidies for plug-in vehicles in Germany.

In total, the car industry in the European Community sold 851,000 passenger cars. About 11 percent of these were fully electric, while these types of vehicles accounted for 9.5 percent of vehicle sales the previous year.

Hybrid vehicles, with an electric drive and a petrol engine, accounted for almost three out of ten vehicles. Half of new cars use petrol or diesel, which is a smaller share of the market than in January last year.

The Netherlands was one of the leaders in the purchase of new electric vehicles. According to ACEA, sales of fully electric cars increased here by more than 72 percent. In the EU as a whole, this was an increase of less than 29 percent.

The plug-in car market fell somewhat in December. Automakers are also more cautious with their investments in electric vehicles. Renault recently pulled out of the IPO of its electric drive unit and said it also wanted to reduce rising costs for these operations.

Among brands, Toyota now ranks second in European sales rankings. The gap between Volkswagen halved compared to January 2023. Skoda, Peugeot and Dacia complete the top five. BMW is the first premium brand in sixth place (48 thousand).

Sales in January:

Source: Acea, edited AM