Europe's BEVs Continue Sales Slide as BMW Bumps Tesla off Top Spot

Registrations of battery-electric vehicles in Europe continue their slowdown as latest industry figures show the sector loses more market share in July.

Following on from a BEV slowdown recorded for the first half of 2024, data compiled by Jato Dynamics shows that despite an overall increase in registrations recorded across 28 European countries, BEVs see registrations slump 6% year-on-year. Its research shows 139,300 new BEVs were registered in July with their market share decreasing from 14.6% in July 2023 to 13.5% last month.

BMW led the BEV brand ranking last month with a 35% year-on-year increase, selling 14,869 units. This compares to Tesla’s 16% year-on-year sales slump in the economic bloc with 14,561 registrations. The Model Y is still Europe’s best-selling BEV model with 9,544 units but BMW’s iX1, i4, and i5 all performed well in July, while the new iX2 registered more than 1,300 units. Registrations of BMW’s electric models are clearly outpacing those of its Mercedes and Audi counterparts.

Overall, demand for cars in Europe increased by 2% last month compared to July 2023. Jato’s data shows a total of 1.03 million units were registered in the region, taking the number of year-to-date registrations to almost 7.9 million.

Growth was particularly prominent in Portugal (+27%), Poland (+19%) and Slovakia (+12%). There were also slight increases in the U.K. (+3%), Italy (+5%), and Spain (+5%). By contrast, vehicle registrations decreased in Germany (-2%), France (-2%), Belgium (-7%), the Netherlands (-4%), and Ireland (-5%).

SUVs also continued their decade-long advance accounting for 54% of all vehicle registrations in July, a new record for the segment. Last month, 554,000 new SUVs were registered, a rise of 6% from July 2023. As a result, the year-to-date volume of SUVs reached 4.2 million units, an increase of 5%.

Volkswagen Group took pole position in this sector, leading the market by volume with 26% of SUVs registered. Hyundai-Kia comes next with 12% and Stellantis with 11.5%. Compact SUVs saw the greatest demand, registering 210,600 units – a rise of 3%. Growth in the segment was also driven by B-Segment SUVs with a volume increase of 14%, registering 204,300 units. Fullsize SUVs registered 27,600 units while luxury SUVs registered 5,022 units, up by 23% and 32%, respectively. Meanwhile, midsize SUVs fell back by 7% recording 106,500 units registered.

Felipe Munoz, Global Analyst at Jato Dynamics, says: “The lack of clarity around the incentives for, and future of, EVs continues to present a barrier to consumers considering an EV. These factors, alongside the low residual value of EVs, contributed to the decline seen in July.”

On SUVs, he adds: “Consumers in Europe now have access to more choice than ever before, and SUVs are a more comfortable and desirable option for many. This, alongside the increasing availability of affordable models, is helping consumers to make the switch from traditional segments to SUVs.”