Sales of battery electric vehicles (EVs) sank across Europe last month as hybrids looked to gain traction, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) has said.
Registrations of new battery-electric cars fell 11.3% to 134,397 units year on year in March, the association reported on Thursday, meaning the vehicles’ market share shrank from 13.9% to 13%.
Hybrid electrics accounted for 29% of registrations over the period, against 24.4% a year ago, as sales jumped by 12.6%.
Battery EV demand has faced pressure in recent months, with Volkswagen Group (XETRA:VOW), Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) and Mercedes all reporting a dip in sales for such models over the first quarter.
That said, falling sales came against a wider backdrop of declining demand for cars across Europe.
Overall, new car sales were down 5.2% on a year earlier in March, as the early Easter holiday hit demand across Europe, according to ACEA.
Sales fell in all of Europe’s four largest economies, the group added, with registrations of electric vehicles declining by as much as 28.9% in Germany.