Chinese-made car registrations in Europe saw a significant increase in February 2024, reaching record levels of year-on-year growth.
Chinese-built models experienced a significant surge in sales, with a remarkable 45% increase in February.
These models accounted for 4% of the overall market, showcasing their growing popularity. However, when it comes to the electric vehicle (EV) market, Chinese models dominate even further.
Recent data from Jato Dynamics reveals that one out of every five EVs sold in Europe during February originated from China.
In contrast, EV registrations for German-made vehicles only saw a modest 8% increase in the first two months of this year.
Felipe Munoz, global analyst at Jato Dynamics, stated: “The growth is partly explained by action taken by some Chinese OEMs to accelerate imports ahead of the EU decision on the anti-subsidy investigation. Increased tariffs could slow the growth of China’s OEMs, but as a knock-on effect it could also prompt them to accelerate their deliveries to Europe.”
Despite the impressive nature of these findings, it is worth mentioning that brands, such as Tesla, Volvo, and Dacia, accounted for approximately 44% of all registered volumes of cars made in China.
On the other hand, MG, a fully Chinese-owned and designed brand positioned as a UK brand, accounted for 40% of the registrations.
This indicates that Chinese brands only made up 16% of the registrations for Chinese-made cars, highlighting the ongoing challenges they face in terms of perception and awareness in Europe.
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In February, the European new car market experienced a positive trend. JATO Dynamics reported that a total of 988,116 passenger cars were registered across 28 European markets, showing a 10% increase compared to February 2023. This brings the year-to-date total to nearly two million units, reflecting an 11% growth.
The growth in the market is not being driven by EVs as they have historically done. Petrol-powered cars have shown strong performance, almost matching pre-Covid-19 levels. JATO's data indicates that these cars accounted for 61% of total registrations in February 2024, slightly lower than the 62% recorded in February 2019.
However, this success has come at the expense of diesel cars, whose market share has dropped significantly from 35% in February 2019 to just 15% in February.
In conclusion, despite the trend heading towards people getting electric vehicles in and around Europe many people are still wary of switching from petrol/diesel to an EV due to range, charging infrastructure and other restrictions.
