The European car market registered its seventh consecutive month of decline in March, according to a report by Uxbridge-based JATO Dynamics Ltd (a global supplier of automotive-business intelligence).
On-going political and economic uncertainty, alongside consumer preoccupation with diesel bans in cities, meant that overall demand continued to decline.
In March, 19 of the European Union’s 27 markets posted negative results — including the 10 largest markets — while the Q1 figures provide a broader view of the downward trend, with only six countries recording growth.
The shift to electrification continues, and March was the first month that registrations of electrified cars (BEV, PHEV, HEV)
exceeded 100,000 (the total was of 125,400).
Felipe Munoz, JATO’s global analyst (
www.jato.com), said: “It was always going to be a challenge to maintain the growth rate we have seen in recent years, thanks to recent events such as WLTP and legislation around diesel, as well as the impending CO2 targets.
“Despite the negative trend we have been seeing since September last year, the market is still strong in terms of volume and offer. In fact, a slow-down after many years of growth is not bad at all.”
The rapid volume growth of pure electric cars was mainly due to the outstanding results of Tesla.
Thanks to strong demand for the Model 3, the brand entered the top 25 best-selling brands in Europe, and registrations increased from 3,747 units in February to 15,755 units in March — making the Model 3 Europe’s top-selling electric car.
Meanwhile, diesel cars continued to lose ground in March, recording their lowest monthly market share since September 2000 — 31.2% of total volume (against 36.2% in March 2018 and 44.8% in March 2017).
Despite the big drops posted last year it seems that concern among consumers is still affecting demand, and the trend has not hit rock bottom yet.
The biggest drops were posted by Mercedes, Renault, Peugeot, Ford and Jaguar Land Rover, whereas Volkswagen, Skoda and Seat saw increases in diesel registrations.