EU passenger car sales up 28.8% to over 1 million units in March, ACEA says

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Electric car models of the Volkswagen Group Volkswagen ID.3, Seat Cupra Born, Volkswagen ID.4, Audi Q4 e-tron, Volkswagen ID.5 GTX and Audi Q4 Sportback e-tron are parked outside the production plant of Volkswagen, in Zwickau, Germany, April 2

(Reuters) – Passenger car registrations in the European Union rose 28.8% in March to more than one million units, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) reported on Wednesday.

Battery-electric cars made up 13.9% of new registrations in the EU, up 2.5% from the same month last year.

Plug-in hybrids are losing ground in the region, declining from a market share of 8.8% in March 2022 to 7.2% in March 2023, ACEA said in a press release.

Meanwhile, petrol and diesel markets performed better than last year, up 18.6% and 11.8%, respectively, from last March, ACEA reported.