Electric cars overtake diesels in popularity, yet Dacia remains Europe's favorite

As of October 2023, a total of 855,484 cars were registered in the European market. Impressively, this marks the fifteenth consecutive month of increased registrations. The most notable trend is the significant uptake of electric vehicles.

This October, electric vehicles accounted for a notable 14.2 percent of total sales, according to ACEA data, surpassing diesel engines, which made up just 12 percent of the market. As expected, electric cars are most prevalent in Western Europe.

The remarkable performance in October has also led to electric cars outpacing diesel in annual statistics. Diesel engines represented 13.9 percent of the market for the last ten months, whereas electric cars have edged forward at 14 percent.

Despite this shift, Europe's most popular new car remains a budget-friendly combustion engine. Specifically, we're talking about the Dacia Sandero, registered 184,088 times since the beginning of the year. The Tesla Model Y follows closely behind, with 183,799 units reported according to Dataforce data up to the end of October 2023.

The outcome of this race for the top spot in 2023 will only become apparent in January. The competition is fascinating, particularly given that the main competitors hail from different sectors.