Tag Archives: European market

News

New car sales growth in Europe

The European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) has published the latest data on new car sales in 28 European markets, which include the European Union, EFTA (European Free Trade Association) and Great Britain. The data show an increase in new car sales, but also an increase in new car registrations in Europe.

New car sales growth in Europe

According to ACEA, European buyers registered 1,080,913 new cars in April (+12%), of which 387,288 cars (35.8 percent) were with gasoline engines, 318,854 hybrids (29.5 percent), 144,656 electric (13, 4 percent), and 124,943 diesel drivers (11.6 percent). Compared to the data for April 2023, only diesel cars recorded a decrease (0.8%), while the registration of all other vehicle types increased (gasoline +4.6%, hybrid 29.1%, electric 14.4%). It should be noted that only diesels recorded a decrease (0.8%).

Also, the number of registered new cars in the first four months of 2024 increased by 6.5 percent compared to the same period in 2023. Since the beginning of the year, a total of 4,476,369 new cars were registered, and the highest demand was for gasoline cars (1,598,296 units). Slightly lower demand was for hybrids (1,329,181 units) with a growth of 21.8 percent, electric cars (593,325 units) with a growth of 6 percent, while only 503,196 cars were diesel (-8.5%).

Volkswagen is still the leader both as a group (+14 percent) and as a brand. When it comes to brands, the biggest growth was achieved by Seat with 33,167 vehicles sold (+63.1), Volvo with 33,767 vehicles (+59 percent) and Honda with 5,887 vehicles (+49.6 percent).

Source: ACEA

News

Ford’s future in the European market is not good

The European market is increasingly becoming the main market for major car manufacturers, but it seems that one of them is slowly losing the battle with the competition. According to experts, the shutdown of Focus next year, one of the two remaining essential models, could put Ford’s future in serious trouble and an even lower position on the European market, where it currently records a drop in sales of 17.5 percent.

For years, driven by bad estimates from market analysts, Ford has been trying to become a fully electric brand, but without success. Guided by the European Union’s decision on the new Euro 7, Ford, unlike most others, too quickly decided to stop the production of some models (Galaxy, S-Maxa, Mondeo, C-Max and Fiesta). However, since the European Union decided to delay the entry into force of the new Euro 7, a large number of manufacturers were forced to change their strategy, but Ford did it too soon.

Next year, Focus will go into the past, and that is what worries experts the most. Of the conventional vehicles, in which the market currently has great interest, only Kuga and Puma remain. This is not enough for a large manufacturer, such as Ford, to stand up to increasingly strong competition. Thus, for the next year, the offer will include only a few models with an internal combustion engine (Puma, Kuga, Bronco, Mustang and Tourneo) and the new EcoSport version, while the electric offer will include the Mustang Mach-E and Explorer Electric, and from 2025, electric Puma and Capri versions. When it comes to plug-in hybrids, apart from the Kuga PHEV, which manages to keep up with the competition, Ford has no other model on offer.

Many believe that Ford should consider postponing the withdrawal of the Focus model, at least for some time, until the American company finds a better solution and stabilizes its position on the European market.

News

Chinese manufacturer Aiways is moving to Europe

China has been the leader in the production of electric cars for years, and now it has become an overcrowded market with a large number of manufacturers who are finding it increasingly difficult to survive. One of them is Aiways, which in the battle of giants like BYD, Tesla or VW, decided to leave the domestic market.

Aiways Automobiles was founded in 2017, and from the very beginning, the goal was to develop a range of SUVs with electric drive. Now the company has announced that it has no plans to stay in the Chinese market due to the intense price pressure and competition that exists in this market, and that the center of global sales operations is moving to Europe (Germany).

After financial problems that forced the company to suspend car production at the Shangrao plant, Aiways still managed to find a way out and continue operations. They are currently working on a new crossover that, according to the company’s plans, should attract a larger number of customers with a low price and ensure better days for the manufacturer. According to Autocar, for now Aiways does not intend to transfer production to European soil, so the U5 and U6 models will continue to be produced in China.

Source: Autocar

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Chinese manufacturer Aiways is moving to Europe