The European car market is going through tough times. According to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association, new car sales in the European Union fell by 18.3% in August, reaching the lowest level in three years. Experts attribute this trend to double-digit sales declines in the largest markets, such as Germany, France and Italy.
Oku.Az reports on this with reference to iz.ru.
According to the report, the decline in demand for fully electric cars is noticeable. Their sales fell by 43.9% and are continuing to decline for the fourth consecutive month. In Germany and France, the decline was 68.8% and 33.1% respectively. The reasons for this trend are the high environmental requirements and tariffs imposed by regulatory authorities.
In the context of the general recession, buyers’ interest is turning towards hybrid electric cars. Their sales increased by 6.6% in August and their market share was 31.3%. Consumers perceive hybrids as an affordable compromise between traditional internal combustion engines and fully electric vehicles.
The current level of car sales is much lower than before the pandemic and experts are worried that the situation will not change in the near future. The European Union is still reviewing tariffs on imported electric cars, which does not help sales growth. Time will tell whether European carmakers will be able to overcome the crisis and adapt to the new market realities.
