The share of electric cars on the European car market exceeded, for the first time, the 20% threshold in August, according to figures published on Wednesday by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA), according to which car sales in Europe increased for the 13th time the month in a row, informs AFP.

This association, which represents the 16 largest car manufacturers in Europe, reported that 904,509 cars were registered in August 2023 in the European Union, Great Britain and the EFTA countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland), an increase of 20 .7% compared to August 2022.

The car market in the European Union registered an advance of 21% at an annual rate, up to 787,626 cars. Most markets saw double-digit increases, including the top three auto markets: Germany (37.3%), France (24.3%) and Italy (11.9%). In Romania, car registrations increased by 2.8% year-on-year in August, up to 12,891 units, according to Agerpres.

“Despite the fact that August is usually a weak month for car sales, double-digit increases indicate that the EU market is recovering from last year’s component shortage,” ACEA explained in a statement.

With a 118.1% increase in annual sales, the 165,165 electric cars represent 21% of the total number of cars registered in August in the EU, surpassing for the second time the registrations of diesel cars. Cars with gasoline engines remain at the top, which in August had a share of 33% in August 2023, lower than the 38.7% in August of last year.

Cars with diesel engines now represent only 12.5% of the European market, down from 16.1% in August last year. The share of diesel cars decreased despite the increase in registrations of such cars in Germany (9.2%) and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, especially in Slovakia (22.6%) and Romania (19.4%).

Among the main general car manufacturers, the German Volkswagen group remained the market leader, with 27% of total sales in August (209,500 units), followed by the Stellantis group (17%). In third place is the French group Renault, with a share of 9.5%. In August, the Renault group registered 91,413 cars, of which 36,418 units were Dacia cars, increasing by 7.6% at an annual rate.

In the first eight months of the year, 351,905 Dacia cars were registered in the European Union, increasing by 23.6% at an annual rate.