EU passenger car registrations rise 29% on year in March: ACEA

New passenger car registration in the EU rose 28.8% year on year and 30.1% month on month to 1.09 million units in March, according to data published by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association April 19.March marked the eighth consecutive month of year on year growth as the EU car market continues to recover from the ongoing semiconductor shortage which weighed on production in recent years.

All the major EU markets showed strong growth through March, especially Germany and France, which registered the most significant on the year increase of 36.4% and 44.7%, respectively.

Over the first quarter of 2023, new car registrations rose 17.9% year on year to almost 2.7 million units. Spain recorded the highest rise of over 44.5% year on year followed by Italy at 26.2%. In France, new car registration increased 15.2% year on year, while strong registrations in March boosted Germany’s Q1 car registrations 6.5% higher.

The automotive sector is a key industry for steel producers and the European hot rolled coil market has strengthened in recent weeks supported by improved demand.

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, assessed domestic hot-rolled coil prices in Northern Europe at Eur840/mt ($842/mt) ex-works Ruhr April 18, up 23.5% from the beginning of 2023.

Meanwhile, in March, the number of battery electric and hybrid cars registered in the EU also rose, representing 13.9% and 24.3% of the market share, respectively, ACEA reported. However, petrol cars remain the main choice for newly registered cars in the EU with a market share of 37.5%.

BEVs accounted for a surge in registrations in March rising 58% year on year to 151,573 units with double and triple percentage increases reported across most members states.

Most notably, monthly BEV registrations in Germany increased 28% year on year, while registrations in France and Netherlands rose by 54.4% and 132.6%, respectively.

Overall, the cumulative number of BEVs registered in EU during Q1 increased 43.2% year on year to 320,987.

Total registrations of HEVs increased to 264,694 units, up 38.1% year on year. The rise was supported by double digit increases across the EU’s four leading markets but particularly Spain and Italy which jumped 75.3% and 47.8%, respectively.

Author Euan Sadden, euan.sadden@spglobal.com