EVs made up 13.6 percent of total sales in Europe last month, down from 14.5 percent in the same month last year.
Europe car sales were roughly flat in July as demand for electric vehicles weakened further in Germany, the region’s biggest car market.
New-car registrations rose just 0.4 percent in the EU, EFTA and U.K. markets, to 1.03 million units last month, industry association ACEA said in data released on Aug. 29.
While sales of battery-electric cars increased in countries including France and the U.K., those gains were not enough to offset a 37 percent decline in Germany.
EV sales have slumped for months in Europe, in part due to governments paring back financial incentives to purchase battery-powered cars.
Germany abruptly ended EV subsidies in mid-December, and the country’s persistent economic downtrend has weighed on consumer spending.
The decline in demand is leading automakers to scale back and slow down plans to scrap the internal combustion engine.
Volkswagen Group is seeking deeper cost cuts beyond potentially closing an Audi EV plant near Brussels.
Carlos Tavares, CEO of Stellantis, the region’s second-biggest automaker, put the company’s underperforming brands on notice after net income almost halved in the first six months of the year.
Mercedes-Benz also trimmed its margin forecast for the year and has walked backed medium-term goals for EV sales, saying the transition from combustion cars will take longer than expected.
“BEV-registration growth could continue to slow, given the lack of incentives and consumer interest beyond first adopters,” Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Gillian Davis and Mike Dean said in a note.
The outlook for Europe’s EV market is complicated further by trade tensions with China. The European Union has accused Beijing of unfairly subsidizing its electric-car industry and announced additional levies on EVs imported from the country. Those tariffs are slated to kick in by November.
EVs were 13.6 percent of total sales in the region last month, down from 14.5 percent last year. Sales of gasoline-powered cars declined 8.4 percent, while diesel vehicles dropped 11 percent.
Hybrids were the big gainer for the month, with registrations jumping 24 percent.
Tesla’s sales continued to fall off across the region, with a 15 percent decline in July. Sales dropped 12 percent during the first seven months of the year.
