European Market Monitor: Cars and vans 2024

Manufacturer pools: Automakers are allowed to form pools to jointly comply with CO₂ targets. For this publication, the 2024 pools are defined according to the European Commission’s “M1 pooling list,” version of 15 January 2025, and the main brands are: BMW Group (BMW, Mini), Ford (Ford), Hyundai (Hyundai), KG Mobility (Great Wall Motor, Xpeng), Kia (Kia), Mercedes-Benz (Mercedes-Benz, Smart), Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi (Dacia, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Renault), Stellantis (Alfa Romeo, Citroën, Fiat, Jeep, Lancia, Opel, Peugeot), Subaru-Mazda-Toyota (Lexus, Mazda, Subaru, Toyota), Volkswagen (Audi, Cupra, Porsche, SEAT, Škoda, VW), and Volvo-Polestar-Suzuki (Polestar, Suzuki, Volvo). For vans, the 2024 pools listed in “N1 pooling list,” version of 15 January 2025, applies: Ford (Ford), Mercedes-Benz (Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi Fuso), Renault-Nissan (Nissan, Renault), Stellantis (Citroën, Fiat, Opel, Peugeot), Volkswagen (MAN, Volkswagen). Tesla is a large M1 manufacturer that is not part of a pool.

Abbreviations: AC = alternating current; CO₂ = carbon dioxide emissions; DC = direct current; g/km = grams per kilometer.

Technical scope: This publication focuses on new passenger car and van registrations. Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) are powered exclusively by an electric motor, with no additional source of propulsion. Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) combine a conventional combustion engine with an electric propulsion system that can be recharged via an external power source. Hybrid electric vehicles here include full hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and mild hybrid electric vehicles (MHEVs). HEVs and MHEVs integrate two propulsion systems, usually a combustion engine and an electric propulsion system, which cannot be recharged via an external power source. Key differences between HEVs and MHEVs are the system voltage and system power. This enables HEVs to drive partially pure electric, while the electric propulsion system of MHEVs is typically only capable of assisting the combustion engine. For more on HEVs and MHEVs see: Jan Dornoff, John German, Ashok Deo, and Athanasios Dimaratos, Mild-Hybrid Vehicles: A Near Term Technology Trend for CO₂ Emissions Reduction (International Council on Clean Transportation, 2022), mild-hybrid-emissions-jul22/.

Geographic scope: The European CO₂ regulation for vehicle manufacturers applies to all countries of the European Economic Area (EEA). This includes the 27 Member States of the European Union plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway. Data for new car and van registrations and shares of electric vehicles in this publication cover all of these countries, with the exception of Bulgaria, Liechtenstein, and Malta. Data for CO₂ emission levels additionally omits Romania. Charging infrastructure data are presented for the 27 EU members plus the four European Free Trade Association countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland).

Data sources: Dataforce (new vehicle registrations), Eco-Movement (charging points), European Environment Agency (EEA) (vehicle mass and eco-innovation credits).

Results may change over time: Registrations and/or CO₂ data may be retrospectively updated by some of the national type-approval authorities. Similarly, charging infrastructure data may also be retrospectively updated by Eco-Movement. Historical values are regularly updated to reflect all latest data available.

Test procedures: CO₂ values are provided according to the Worldwide harmonized Light vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP).

Flexible compliance mechanisms: To facilitate meeting their CO₂ targets, manufacturers can make use of a number of compliance mechanisms. Manufacturers can reduce their CO₂ level by up to 7 g/km by deploying eco-innovation technologies. As a conservative estimate, we apply the 2023 level of eco-innovation CO₂ emission reductions per brand. For more on the methodology used, see: Uwe Tietge, Peter Mock, and Jan Dornoff, Overview and Evaluation of Eco-Innovations in European Passenger Car CO₂ Standards (International Council on Clean Transportation, 2018), https:// theicct.org/publications/eco-innovations-european-passenger-car-co2-standards.

Mass-based targets: For each manufacturer pool, a specific 2024 CO₂ target value applies, depending on the average mass of the new vehicles registered. For this publication, we assume the average mass per manufacturer pool remains the same as in 2023; the average 2023 BEV and non-BEV mass for each manufacturer was calculated based on EEA data and then weighted according to their 2024 BEV market shares. For more on the methodology used see: Uwe Tietge, Jan Dornoff, and Peter Mock, CO₂ Emissions From New Passenger Cars in Europe: Car Manufacturers’ Performance in 2023 (International Council Clean Transportation, 2024), https:// theicct.org/publication/co2-emissions-new-pv-europe-car-manufacturersperformance-2023-sept24/.

Charging point: As defined in the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation, a charging point “means a fixed or mobile interface that allows for the transfer of electricity to an electric vehicle, which, whilst it may have one or several connectors to accommodate different connector types, is capable of recharging only one electric vehicle at a time, and excludes devices with a power output less than or equal to 3.7 kW the primary purpose of which is not recharging electric vehicles.”

Owner types: This publication considers four types of owners: private cars, company fleets, short-term rentals, and car dealers and manufacturers. The private car category includes all registrations under private individuals, including those of self employed persons, provided the vehicles are not registered under a company name. Private leasing is also included. Company fleets encompass all vehicles registered to companies, excluding those intended for resale or rental. This category includes company and public administration fleets, commercial long-term rentals, commercial leases, taxis, driving schools, diplomats, etc. The size of the fleet and the extent to which the vehicles are used privately are not considered relevant. The short-term rentals type covers all registrations under large or small national and local rental companies. It also covers all vehicles flagged by authorities as being used for self drive rental purposes. The car dealers and manufacturers type includes all vehicles registered by car dealers and manufacturers. For automakers, this includes vehicles used for press purposes as well as those for their own employees. New registrations data by registration type is aggregated for the following 20 European countries: Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and United Kingdom.