Car market continues to grow

DESPITE continuing economic uncertainty and diminishing consumer confidence, the European car market registered growth in July 2019, as registrations were up by 1.2% to 1,325,600 units.

Although the agrowth was marginal, it marks a significant improvement on the drop seen in June, when registrations fell by 7.9%. However, the result is not significant enough to offset the market’s overall performance so far in 2019, with year-to-date figures showing 9,723,400 vehicles have been registered – a 2.5% drop on the same period last year.

‘ There is uncertainty in Europe. After many years of growth, the market shows signs of deceleration that is likely to continue if the German economy fails to grow again,’ explains Felipe Munoz, JATO’s global analyst. The growth seen in July was driven by the midsize and small markets, as 14 of the 27 countries analysed in JATO’s insights saw increases. Again, the situation is not as positive in the year-to-date figures, where only 10 markets have so far recorded growth.

Ireland’s registrations during the period were down 7.3 per cent to 105,397.

Electric is certainly the way forward, with registrations of BEV, PHEV, HEV and other electric vehicles totalled 96,600 units in July –as demand increased by 29% from July 2018. The fuel type also saw a market share increase from 5.8% to 7.4%.

The increase in EV’s market share came as a result of the outstanding performance of pure electric cars (BEVs), where volume was up by a huge 98% to 23,200 units. The growth was driven by Tesla – the top- selling brand – and Renault, which saw a 103% volume increase after its Zoe model became the top-selling BEV during the month. Other notable results included Volkswagen, where volume was up by 64%, Hyundai, where volume was up by 334%, and Audi, which sold 1,735 units of the E-Tron.