Last month, a total of 787,626 new cars were registered in Europe, reports the European car manufacturers’ association ACEA. The number of registrations is increasing for the thirteenth month in a row and was 21 percent higher in August this year than in August 2022. Normally, August is a quiet month in car sales, the ACEA says. The association sees the increase as a recovery from the infamous parts shortage that has long plagued the automotive sector.
EV surpasses diesel
In our country, 36,798 new cars were registered last month, an increase of 27.3 percent compared to August last year. Then 28,917 new cars were registered. In percentage terms, Belgium is only ahead of Bulgaria (37.8 percent) and Germany (37.3 percent) in registrations.
If you look at the type of drive, you cannot ignore the strong increase in electric cars. Last month, 118.1 percent more EVs were registered in Europe than in August 2022. This means that the number of EVs in European registration statistics exceeds a fifth (21 percent) for the first time.
For the second time this year, electric cars overtake diesel cars in European registration figures (12.5 percent). Petrol cars remain the most popular (32.7 percent), followed by hybrid cars (HEV) (23.9 percent). For the sake of clarity, the ACEA also includes mild hybrids.
Belgium as the leader
Our country is the absolute leader in registrations of electric cars. Last month, no less than 224.5 percent more new electric cars were registered in Belgium than in August 2022. This means we are well ahead of the second in the list, Germany. Our eastern neighbors recorded an increase of 170.7 percent.
Belgium also recorded a strong increase in the number of plug-in hybrid registrations (102.6 percent). This makes our country the fifth strongest riser in Europe. With 23.5 percent of the number of registrations, plug-in hybrids are the third most popular drive type in our country. Gasoline cars remain the most popular (37.1 percent), followed by electric cars (25.1 percent). Diesels and hybrids (including mild hybrids) each accounted for 7 percent of registrations in our country last month.
Tax deductibility
In addition to the recovery in delivery times, the explanation for the high figures for electric cars and plug-in hybrids in our country mainly comes from a fiscal perspective. On July 1, the favorable tax benefit of full deductibility for plug-in hybrid company cars expired in our country. As a result, business drivers are switching to fully electric cars in large numbers. But because the date on the order form is important for deductibility, the number of registrations of plug-in hybrids in our country will remain on the high side for a while.
