Il European automotive market register a another month of decline in registrations, with a decrease of 4,2% (EU plus EFTA and UK), compared to the same period of the previous year. September 2024, 1.118.083 cars were registered, a slight recovery compared to August Crash (-16,5%), but still insufficient to reverse the negative trend. Part of the credit for this slight recovery goes to sales of electric cars, which recovered after a drastic drop (-36%) in the previous month, driven mainly by the Anglo-Saxon market.
According to data from the Association of European Automobile Manufacturers (That), the period January-September 2024 saw a limited growth 1% compared to the same period in 2023, with a total of 9,77 million units registered. However, not all countries benefited from this recovery. Important markets such as France, Italy and Germany suffered sharp contractions, of 11,1%, 10,7% and 7% respectively. Only Spagna managed to stand out, with a growth of 6,3%.
Car Sales: Hybrids Overtake Gasolines
September 2024 marks a turning point in the automotive power market, with the hybrid cars that for the first time have surpassed petrol cars. Registrations of hybrid cars increased by 12,5% (mainly due to sales in France and Spain), reaching a 32,8% market sharePetrol cars, on the other hand, suffered a 17,9% drop (241 thousand units), reducing their market share to 29,8%.
even the Diesel continues its decline, with a contraction of 23,5%, corresponding to 84 thousand units registered, and a market share reduced to 10,4%. This trend reflects the growing interest of consumers towards more ecological and less expensive solutions in terms of fuel. Hybrid cars, in particular, offer a compromise between electric technology and traditional engines, resulting in being more economical than fully electric vehicles.
Electric car sales slightly up
Le electric car sales they recorded a slight recovery in September, with an increase of 9,8% on an annual basis and a market share of 17,3%. The annual data remain, however, below expectations: In the first nine months of 2024, registrations of electric cars fell by 5,8% compared to the same period in 2023. The sharpest decline occurred in Germany, where sales of electric vehicles fell by 28,6%.
I full electric models recovered ground in September, with a 13,9% increase in volumes but on an annual basis, registrations are still down 2,6% compared to the same period in 2023. Among the major automotive groups, Stellantis suffered the worst blow in this sector with a 26% drop, with brands such as Citroen, Fiat and Lancia doing even worse and reducing volumes by over 40%
"We are still far from the flourishing electricity market which Europe needs,” he declared Sigrid de Vries, Director General of Acea, stressing that monthly growth should be more constant and sustained: “we should see constant and substantial monthly growth, especially at this crucial time for the development of this technology,” continued Sigrid de Vries. “Instead, since the beginning of the year the market share of electric cars is almost 1% lower than last year, while volumes are still almost 6% lower”.
Car Registrations: Stellantis, Hyundai and Mercedes Down, Toyota, BMW and Tesla Up
The European automotive market has seen contrasting trendsbetween the various car manufacturers. Volkswagen maintained stable sales in September, with 216.577 units (+0,3%), while Stellantis suffered a sharp contraction of 27,1%, falling to 120.582 registrations. A decline that led to a reduction in the group's market share of more than 4 percentage points compared to the previous year. Other giants in the sector, such as Renault (-1,5%), Hyundai (-11,4%), Mercedes Benz (-7,3%) And Ford (-9,8%), recorded drops in sales.
Bucking, bmw saw a growth of 7,6%, Toyota the 5,1% Tesla by 31% e Volvo of 16,1%. The Toyota group, in particular, achieved the most significant result, with a 4% increase in registrations in September and a growth of 12,3% in the first nine months of the year.
Future challenges for the sector: Acea's requests
Faced with these dynamics, theThat asked the European institutions to take urgent measures to support the automotive sector. In particular, the association urged the European Commission to review and bring forward the CO2 emission reduction targets set for 2025 and 2026. Automakers are also doing pressure to reopen the debate on the end of internal combustion engines scheduled for 2035, in an attempt to get more time to complete the transition to electric.
Stellantis: Fitch revises outlook to negative
Meanwhile, the rating agency Fitch has recently Stellantis outlook revised from positive to negative, while maintaining the long-term rating "BBB +“Weighing on the revision are the difficulties encountered by the automotive group, particularly in the North American market, where profitability and free cash flow margins were lower than expected.
Fitch has downgraded the Ebit margin forecasts Stellantis, estimating it at 6,2% for 2024 and 7,7% for 2025. Among the main causes, the agency highlights the failure to reduce inventories and the persistent pressure on prices in both North America and Europe. These factors, combined with the decline in registrations, put the group in a vulnerable position for the future.
