By David Sachs


Registrations of new cars in the European Union rose in February, but electric-vehicle sales growth was dragged by a drop in Germany.

New car registrations--which mirror sales--grew 10% on year to 883,608 units February, driven by consumers in France and Italy, the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association, known as ACEA, said Thursday.

Monthly sales of fully-electric vehicles rose 9% to 106,000. However, this was modest compared with a 29% rise in January. EV sales in Germany, the EU's largest auto market, fell 15% in February, ACEA said.

Car-buyers opted for traditional hybrid cars, which burn more gasoline than plug-in hybrids, with sales surging 25% due to notable growth in the bloc's largest markets of France, Spain, Germany and Italy, ACEA said. French registrations of hybrids leaped 41.5% in February, helping the vehicle type to a 29% market share.

Mass-market carmakers increased sales in the region, as Jeep maker Stellantis posted a 12% jump, Volkswagen Group sales rose 9.8%, and Renault registrations ticked up 5.8%. Mercedes-Benz posted a 4% sales decline and BMW noted an increase of 3.3%.


Write to David Sachs at david.sachs@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

03-21-24 0314ET