THE German auto market is sending a message to European politicians that they are on a hiding to nothing in their pursuit of battery electric vehicles because the people with the power of the purse in the car market are voting against EVs with their cheque books.

The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) said sales of new battery-powered electric vehicles (BEV) in Germany plunged by nearly 70 per cent to 27,024 units in August.

What the ACEA is describing as a “spectacular” weakness in BEV sales has infected the entire European market for most vehicle types and the lost sales have led to renewed calls by car makers for the European Union to back off targets that clearly the market, on these recent trends, will not be able to meet.In France, the EU’s second largest market for battery electric vehicles behind Germany, BEV deliveries fell by 33pc to 13,143.

In Britain the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders (SMMT) said 213,500 EVs were sold in the first eight months of 2024, an increase of 10.5pc compared to the previous year but well short of the annual growth of 40.5pc over the same period in 2023. 

The drop in sales across Europe, which has infected all sectors apart from hybrids, is sending a message to all governments that they cannot legislate market share from an unwilling public and that the rush to drive BEV sales runs the risk of bringing economies that are so dependent on the car industry to their knees. 

What is effectively the beginnings of what looks like the start of a buyers strike for BEVs comes at a really bad time for the EU car industry which is grappling with Chinese carmakers at the gate posing a further threat to domestic manufacturers being denied the bulk of whatever sales there are to recoup the investments that have been made in electric vehicles at the point of gun from the EU.

The ACEA publishes the following breakdown of the importance of the EU automobile industry to the economy of the EU:

• 12.9 million Europeans work in the automotive sector
• 8.3 per cent of all manufacturing jobs in the EU
• €392.2 billion in tax revenue for European governments
• €101.9 billion trade surplus for the European Union
• Over 7 per cent of EU GDP generated by the auto industry
• €59.1 billion in R&D spending annually, 31 per cent of EU total

Referring to the total market, the ACEA said “the spectacular drop” in both Germany and France meant that only 92,627 battery electric vehicles were registered across Europe last month, a fall of 43.9pc compared to a year earlier. This drove a wider 18pc drop in new car sales across the EU.The collapse in EV sales comes amid concerns about their range, high prices, insurance policy issues, loss of resale value and a lack of charging infrastructure across Europe. It also coincides with the withdrawal of EV subsidies.

Felipe Munoz, a global automotive analyst at JATO Dynamics, said: “The industry is going to face further challenges in the coming months. Buyers are still grappling with the pressure to make the switch to electric, and EVs continue to be more expensive than already pricey combustion engine cars.”

“The reality is that whether you look at business or private, electric vehicles do not convince yet.”

The ACEA data said that in August 2024, registrations of battery-electric vehicles (BEV) across Europe dropped by 43.9 per cent to 92,627 units (compared to 165,204 the same period last year), with their total market share slipping to 14.4 per cent from 21 per cent a year before. 

From January to August, 902,011 new battery-electric cars were registered, representing 12.6 per cent of the market.

Plug-in hybrid car registrations also saw a decrease (-22.3 per cent) in August, with declines recorded in all their major markets. In August, plug-in hybrids accounted for 7.1 per cent of the total car market, down from 7.4 per cent last year, with 45,590 units sold.

Hybrid-electric vehicles, however, saw growth in August, the only vehicle type to do so.Hybrid-electric vehicles registrations rose by 6.6 per cent to 201,552 units. Three of the four largest markets for this segment recorded gains: Spain (+12.6 per cent), France (+12.5 per cent), and Italy (+2.5 per cent), while Germany (-0.1 per cent) remained stable. The hybrid-electric market share reached 31.3 per cent, up from 24 per cent in August 2023.

Petrol and diesel cars also suffered in the fallout.

In August 2024, petrol car sales dropped by 17.1 per cent with all four key European markets recording significant declines: France (‑36.6 per cent), Italy (-18.8 per cent), Spain (-17.4 per cent) and Germany (-7.4 per cent). Petrol cars now represent 33.1 per cent of the market, down from 32.6 per cent in August last year.