New car sales in the European Union dropped 18.3% in August, its lowest in three years, on the back of double digit losses in markets such as France, Germany Italy, Reuters reported. A fall in EV sales was also a cause behind this, auto industry body data showed.
The data pointed to the fourth continuous monthly drop in EV sales, enabling European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association to push for ‘urgent action,’ to arrest further decline, the newswire noted.
It said the industry needed “EU institutions to come forward with urgent relief measures before new CO2 targets for cars and vans come into effect in 2025.”
ACEA noted that sales of fully electric cars fell 43.9% in August, as the bloc’s largest EV markets France and Germany fell 68.8% and 33.1% respectively, Reuters noted.
Sales at Europe’s three largest carmakers Volkswagen, Stellantis and Renault fell from a year earlier, by 14.8%, 29.5% and 13.9%, respectively, the newswire noted.
Tesla sales fell 43.2% in August, with SAIC Motor being down 27.5%.
The shrinking EV sales are partly because of diverging policies on green incentives across the EU, while regulators have imposed hefty tariffs to try to keep out cheap Chinese EVs, potentially adding to purchase prices.
To try to revive the market, Germany agreed in September on tax deductions of up to 40% for companies on their EV sales, the newswire noted.