Sales of new cars increased by 117 thousand in September compared to last year. In the first nine months of the year, the growth reached 17% yoy . The smallest decline was seen in Bulgaria (40.6%) while sales in Norway dropped the most (-29.4%). Volkswagen Group sold the most cars in September 2023 in Europe, some 284 thousand vehicles representing 24.4% of the European market.
Despite the impressive growth seen in the first nine months of the year, the EU car market remains 20% below the pre-COVID pandemic level of 10 mil units sold in 2019. In September, the battery-electric car market share reached 14.8% becoming the third-most-popular choice for new car buyers behind hybrid-electric cars (27.3%) and petrol with a 34.1% market share.
In September, most vehicles (273 thousand) were sold in the United Kingdom (up 21.0% yoy), followed by Germany (225 thousand, down 0.140%), France with 156 thousand cars (up 10.7%), 136 thousand new vehicles were registered in Italy (up 22.8%) and 68.8 thousand in Spain (up 2.32%). The five largest countries accounted for 67.7% of total new vehicles registered in September 2023.
In relative terms, sales in Bulgaria (+40.6%) and Greece (+32.5%) declined the least compared to a year ago, whereas registration in Norway and Romania dropped the most (-29.4% and -11.6% yoy), in September 2023, according to ACEA.
Volkswagen Group sold the most cars in September 2023 in Europe, some 284 thousand vehicles representing 24.4% of the European market. Sales of Stellantis amounted to 201 thousand vehicles (or 17.2% of the market) while Renault Group and Hyundai Group held 8.80% and 8.80% of the European market in September. Overall, the five largest manufacturers sold 66.2% of all new cars in September.
Helgi Library 
