Electric car sales for Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA), Volkswagen and rivals expanded at double-digit rates in Europe over the summer, with battery electric vehicles now up to an 11% share of the market last month.
Overall Western European car registrations fell 21% in August, according to calculations by Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) of recent sales data. Sales are well below 2019 levels, though registrations of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid EVs grew at double-digit percentages.
Across Europe's top five markets, BEV sales rose 67% in August to a market share of 11%, reaching double digits for the first time.
Plug-in hybrid registrations grew 52% in August but remain in single digits, with a market share of 9%.
Market share of the automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in Germany remained largely unchanged in August, Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB)'s analysts noted, "as all carmakers continue to run electrified models in their prioritized portfolios in order to reach CO2 compliance".
Volkswagen continues to outsell its domestic peers and to defend its high market share.
While the shortage in the semi (articulated lorries) market is clearly weighing on overall volumes, Deutsche said, the analysts expect the momentum of electrified units "to remain better than the overall market in coming months due to pressure to meet emission targets".
However, the comparison against last year becomes much tougher from September, which is predicted to weigh on relative growth.