While new car sales may currently be struggling in Ireland, latest figures for the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) show that in April the European Union car market grew by 13.7%, with new registrations totalling 913,995 units. Behind this were healthy sales in Spain (up 23.1%), Germany (+19.8%), France (+10.9%), and Italy (+7.7%).

Although the growth can be partly attributed to more working days than in April 2023, the overall trend appears to be positive. 

The breakdown according to powertrain was battery-electric cars nearly 12% of the EU car market, while hybrid-electrics rose to 29.1% from 24.9%. The combined share of petrol and diesel vehicles dropped to less than half the market, at 48.9%, down from 52.8%.

Hybrid-electric cars saw robust growth, with registrations up 33.1% in April. The largest markets for this segment, France (+48.1%), Spain (+38.5%), Germany (+25.9%), and Italy (+22.8%), all recorded double-digit increases, with registrations totalling 265,992 units. Plug-in hybrid car registrations saw a modest increase of 3.7% last month. 

In April 2024, petrol car sales increased by 7.3% to 328,967, driven by double-digit gains in key markets. However, their market share declined from 38.1% to 36% compared to the same month the previous year. Meanwhile, the diesel car market remained steady at around 118,000 units, accounting for nearly 13% of the market.