In November, according to the data Acea (Association of European Automobile Manufacturers), Registrations decreased by 1.9% compared to the same month of the previous year, with significant impacts in key countries such as France and Italy. France recorded a sharp decline of 12.7%, followed by Italy with a contraction of 10.8%, while Germany remained essentially stable (+0.5%). The only market that showed positive growth was Spain, with an increase of 6.4%.
These data fit into a broader picture of a slowdown for the whole of 2024, with overall growth in registrations stopping at a modest +0.4%, with a total of 9.7 million units sold. Electric car registrations drop decreased by 9.5% in November, reaching only 130,757 units. Hybrids “on tap” also saw a significant drop, equal to 8.8%.
All this means that the market is rebelling against the green ideology imposed by the EU. They also noticed it in Brussels. In response to this complex situation, the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen announced the launch in January of a “Strategic Dialogue” on the future of the automotive industry. The roundtable will focus on creating strategies to ensure the global competitiveness of automotive manufacturing in Europe, focusing on innovation, digitalisation, decarbonisation and strengthening the resilience of the sector. The dialogue will be inclusive, involving not only car manufacturers and infrastructure providers, but also trade unions, business associations and other key players in the automotive supply chain.
Even in Brussels they seem to have realized that the crisis in the auto sector is worsened by the difficulty of adapting to new environmental regulationswhich see the European Union committed to promoting increasingly sustainable mobility. However, while the transition to electric is crucial to achieving the EU’s ambitious climate goals, manufacturers’ economic difficulties and declining sales pose serious obstacles to the growth of electric cars.
The situation is causing concern at a political level, with voices being raised against the possibility of new sanctions for car manufacturers that do not meet sales targets for eco-friendly vehicles. The German Chancellor Olaf Scholz recently underlined that, in such a difficult moment for the industry, it makes no sense to further penalize companies with fines for failure to achieve targets. Car manufacturers are in fact facing enormous difficulties related to the investments necessary for the transition to electric, and sanctions could undermine their ability to invest in innovation.
The Strategic Dialogue therefore represents an important step to ensure that the European automotive industry not only survives the transition, but emerges from this transformation strengthenedcapable of driving global innovation in the sustainable mobility sector. It will be crucial to monitor the developments of this discussion table, to understand if and how Europe will manage to maintain its leadership position in the global automotive market, while facing the economic and environmental challenges of the future.
If Europe manages to find a balance between sustainability and competitiveness, it will not only be able to avoid the decline of the sector, but also become a reference model for the mobility of the future, capable of combining technological innovation and environmental responsibility.
