Chinese automakers struggled to gain pace against western competition, Tesla remained the top EV brand and new car registrations in 28 European countries rose 17.1% year on year in the first half of 2023.
H1 2023 saw the most EU28 registrations since the Covid-19 pandemic at 6.56m units. This was an increase of 976,000 units compared to H1 2022 and 80,000 units from H1 2021. But 2023 results so far were not as high as those in H1 2019 and 2018, with 1.86m and 2.13m more units registered respectively in those years.
JATO Dynamics analyst Felipe Munoz said: “Although registrations are slowly rising again, difficulties with supply chain, as well as other post-pandemic factors, mean the market won’t return to the same state before 2020 for a while.”
A major barrier to reaching higher volume is accessibility of electric vehicles and their higher prices.
Tesla dominates Opel, Citroen, Fiat
Tesla topped BEV sales in June and the first half with 48,200 vehicles registered last month double the result a year ago. The Model Y drove brand popularity, becoming Europe’s best selling passenger car in June and H1 2023, as well as being the world’s most popular car in the first.
Tesla registered more new cars in June than other mainstream brands like Opel/Vauxhall, Citroen, or Fiat, with Model Y and Model 3 volume up 95% and 117% respectively. Hence it achieves the largest market share increase, 1.3% between H1 2022 and H1 2023, rising from 1.53% to 2.82% the biggest increase among 116 brands tracked in Europe. Market share in H1 2019 was 0.54%.
Munoz said: “The increase in availability of cars following the start of local production in Germany, as well as price cuts, explains Tesla’s rapid growth recently. It’s also important to note Tesla represents EVs for many all over the world, and today more and more people are turning electric.”
Second highest share gain: MG
With 104,300 units registered in H1 2023, MG outsold other major brands such as Mini, Cupra, and Jeep. Partly due to the success of the MG 4, its volume grew by 128% since H1 2022, providing MG with the second highest market share increase in the first half of this year.
Munoz, added: “MG is using both the notoriety of the brand in the west, and the competitiveness of China, to its advantage. Its appealing, modern, and affordable electric cars in both western and wastern markets is a good showcase of how Chinese manufacturers can gain more traction and shift perceptions of their products.”
Chinese OEMs struggle
Aside from MG, Chinese carmakers are gaining traction less quickly than analysts anticipated.
Munoz: “The dominating narrative at the moment is around the big potential of Chinese manufacturers in Europe. The potential is certainly there, but the volume of registrations is not currently reflecting that.”
Of the 26 Chinese made cars sold in Europe, 43,101 units have been registered between January and June 2023 for only 0.66% market share. There was still growth as they had 0.43% a year ago. Including MG, Chinese OEM share is 2.25%, or 147,394 units.
Munoz: “The perception of cars by Chinese manufacturers in the west needs to shift in order to see growth.”
Model Y top again
Since September 2022, the Tesla Model Y has topped the list in November, December, February, March and June. The gap between the first and second positions in the overall rankings for both Q1 and H1 2023 widened from 11,481 units to 13,156 units.
The Tesla ranked first in Denmark, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland and was most popular in Norway where almost one in four new cars registered were Model Ys.
At the cheap end, the Dacia Sandero remained second with registrations up 27% to 123,400 units. Its place as second in the overall ranking indicates income differences across regions. In France the Model Y was almost EUR37,000 or 231% more expensive than the Dacia.
Other brands
The Skoda Octavia also achieved a healthy market share increase from H1 2022 to H1 2023. It was followed by the Dacia Jogger, Toyota Yaris Cross, Renault Clio, Volkswagen Tiguan, Renault Megane, MG ZS, VW ID.3 and ID.4 plus Ford Focus. Largest declines affected Toyota RAV4, Peugeot 208, Toyota Corolla, Opel/Vauxhall Crossland, Fiat Panda, Citroen C3, Peugeot 3008, Volksagen Golf, Renault Zoe and Kia Niro.
