Last month, EVs posted their biggest registrations decline in Europe since April 2020

• The volume of pure electric and plug-in hybrid cars totalled 215,000 units in June, down by 8%
• The overall market declined by 17%, to 1.05 million units
• Chinese brands posted a 93% increase

Last month, the decline of new car registrations in Europe accelerated, with volume falling from 1,268,508 units in June 2021 to 1,054,807 units for the same period this year. This marks the worst month for June since 1993, with a 17% decline. Felipe Munoz, Global Analyst at JATO Dynamics, commented: “The operating environment is becoming increasingly difficult, and worryingly the few safe havens that previously existed across the industry are now starting to show signs of decline too.”

SUVs and EVs, which had been drivers of growth over previous months, are now posting declines. Last month, registrations for SUVs fell by 7% when compared to June 2021, marking a year-to-date decline of 4%. However, they still posted a record market share of 49.5%.

The same can be said for electrified vehicles (EVs). A total of 215,000 units were registered in June 2022, down by 8% from the 233,000 units registered a year ago. This is the biggest fall on record for EVs since April 2020, when the worst of the pandemic hit the market. From the total, pure electric cars accounted for 62%, while 38% were plug-in hybrid electric cars.

The fall in EV demand impacted Tesla, Volkswagen, Renault, Audi, Skoda, and Ford the most. While Tesla was mainly affected by the halt of production at its plant in China, the brands from Volkswagen Group were forced to stop producing a number of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles due to supply issues arising from the Russia-Ukraine conflict. In contrast, BMW, Mercedes, Peugeot, Kia, Fiat and Cupra recorded growth.

Excluding brands with only BEV and PHEV models available, within its own registrations, Jeep posted the highest market share increase for its EV models – jumping from 30% in June 2021, to 47% last month. It was followed by Jaguar, Mitsubishi, Lexus, and Citroen.

Renault group and Chinese manufacturers among the big winners

However, the external environment is not impacting all OEMs equally. For instance, In June, Volkswagen Group lost 26% in sales and 3 share points when compared to June 2021, while Renault (including Renault, Dacia, and Alpine) increased its market share from 10% in June 2021, to 12.1% last month. Renault’s volume remained stable with 127,200 units – down by 16% but still the third largest behind the Volkswagen Group and Stellantis.

The Chinese brands, excluding Geely, posted a 93% increase during June – up to 13,800 vehicles – with over 75% of this volume corresponding to MG cars, up by 72%. These Chinese brands outpaced Suzuki’s, JLR’s, Mazda’s, and Honda’s registrations over the same period.

On the other hand, groups such as BMW, Ford, and Geely posted significant decreases, mostly due to their lack of new cars. Similarly, this is why Tesla lost ground, with the brand posting an 11% decline to 22,900 units. However, its overall volume for H1 2022 was up by 27%.

Peugeot 208 leads, and Tesla Model Y in top 10

There were also significant variances in performance between key models during the month. While the Peugeot 208 reinforced its leading position, increasing its volume by 38%, others such as the Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Yaris, and Renault Clio fell by more than 30% each.

Dacia performed relatively well, with the Duster up by 27%, and the recently introduced Jogger registering 9,400 units. Tesla’s performance was hindered by its Model 3, which posted a 76% decline. However, its Model Y made the top 10 with 16,700 units. Peugeot recorded a 149% increase with the 308, and Kia performed well with the Sportage up by 39%, and EV6 registered almost 2,000 units.

Mercedes was stable with 56,400 units. The drop posted by the A-Class (-19%), E-Class (-11%) and CLA (-22%) were offset by the 2% increase at the C-Class, and the very good results from the GLC, up by 132%. Further down, the new Qashqai helped Nissan to contain the big loses from the rest of the lineup.

Once again, Cupra shone with the volume up by 77% to 15,300 units. The Formentor was Europe’s third best-selling PHEV during the month.

Other big performers included the Toyota Yaris Cross (6^th best-selling B-SUV), the Renault Arkana (third best-selling Renault), the Volkswagen Taigo (6^th best-selling Volkswagen), and the MG HS (the top-selling MG). Dacia increased the registrations of the Spring by 58%; Ford Ecosport up by 52%; Hyundai Bayon up by 55%.

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