With the rise in electric car sales, electrified cars could overtake their petrol and diesel counterparts in the coming weeks in the number of new vehicles registered in France.
In recent years, there has been a surge of electric models on the market, whether 100% electric or hybrid. Nothing really surprising in this, while the European Union imposes increasingly strict directives on manufacturers, in order to reduce polluting emissions from the automotive industry. This involves in particular traffic restrictions for thermal vehicles, going as far as a total ban on sales in 2035, but also by developing electric vehicles.
Today, almost all manufacturers offer at least one trendy model in their range, in all segments, from city cars to large SUVs. Aided by an ecological bonus currently set at €6,000 and by an increasing number of charging infrastructures, motorists are now more inclined than ever to go electric. And that obviously shows in the sales figures, as detailed a report by NGC Data.
A changing energy mix
In France, over the whole month of May, no less than 126,819 new vehicles were registered. While gasoline is still the majority, with 45,860 sales, or 36.2% market share, this fuel is down 22.2% compared to last year. It’s not much better on the diesel side, which recorded a -27.8% drop in sales over one year, with 22,271 registrations over the last month for a market share of only 18%.
Suffice to say that purely thermal vehicles no longer really have the wind in their sails. An unprecedented situation, which pushes NGC Data to affirm that “ diesel and gasoline could no longer be the majority in the energy mix from June 2022“. Indeed, the sales of 100% electric cars are on the rise, around 32% in May and 38% over the whole of 2022 for a market share of 12%. Hybrids represent 29% (21% for non-rechargeable hybrids and 8% for rechargeable hybrids), up 10% and 8% respectively over the year.
MG Motors at the top!
If the automotive market is still going through a major crisis, with sales down 10% in May compared to last year, not all manufacturers are in the same boat. The vast majority are bearing the brunt of the crisis, linked in particular to the shortage of semiconductors, but some are still doing very well, like Kia and Hyundai, which posted sales up by 15 and 30% for the month of May.
As for the 100% electric brands, all is not rosy either. If Tesla has recorded an increase of 8% since the beginning of the year, the firm suffered in May, with sales plummeting by around 93%. This is not very surprising since the American manufacturer mainly brings its cars from China and the United States by boat, with deliveries in spurts. The opening of the Berlin plant should slightly modify this balance. On the other hand, the nice surprise comes from MG Motors, which has registered 3,046 cars since the start of the year, an increase of 169%, despite a small drop of 17% last month.
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