BMW led the European battery electric vehicle (BEV) market in July for the first time, new Jato Dynamics data reveals.

The new iX2 helped BMW lead the way on EV demand in July

Data across 28 countries, including the UK, shows BMW was at the forefront of the BEV brand ranking last month, with a 35% year-on-year increase. The German carmaker’s strong performance compares to Tesla’s 16% year-on-year decline; the result of falls for both the Model Y and 3. The Model Y does still dominate the BEV model ranking, but is no longer Europe’s best-selling vehicle.

BMW also clearly outpaced Mercedes and Audi for BEV sales. Strong sellers include the iX1, i4 and i5 – while the new iX2 registered more than 1,300 units.

BMW’s success comes against a backdrop of falling BEV demand. While overall demand for cars across all 28 markets rose 1.5% year on year in July, demand for BEVs fell. Some 139,300 new electric cars were registered last month, down 6% from July 2023.

Felipe Munoz, global analyst at Jato Dynamics, commented: “The lack of clarity around the incentives for – and future of – EVs continues to present a barrier to consumers considering an EV. These factors, alongside the low residual value of EVs contributed to the decline seen in July.”

SUVS, however, are on the rise and accounted for 54% of all vehicle registrations in July – a new record for the segment. Last month, 554,000 new SUVs were registered, a rise of 6% from July 2023. As a result, the year-to-date volume of SUVs reached 4.2 million units, an increase of 5%.

Volkswagen Group took pole position, leading the market by volume. A quarter (26%) of SUVs registered were Volkswagen Group vehicles, followed by Hyundai-Kia with 12% and Stellantis with 11.5%.

Compact SUVs (C-SUVs) saw the most demand, registering 210,600 units – a rise of 3%. Growth in the segment was also driven by small SUVs (B-SUVs) with a volume increase of 14% – registering 204,300 units. Large models (E-SUVs) registered 27,600 units, and luxury models (F-SUVs) registered 5,022 units, up by 23% and 32% respectively. But midsize SUVs (D-SUVs) fell by 7% in July, recording 106,500 units.

Across all 28 European markets and segments, demand for new cars was up 1.5%, equating to 1.03 million units and taking the number of year-to-date registrations to almost 7.9 million. Growth was particularly prominent in Poland (+19%), Portugal (+27%), and Slovakia (+12%). There were also slight increases in the UK (+3%), Italy (+5%), and Spain (+5%). In contrast, vehicle registrations decreased in Germany (-2%), France (-2%), Belgium (-7%), the Netherlands (-4%), and Ireland (-5%).

The Dacia Sandero took the crown as the region’s most sought-after car in July, registering 22,400 units – an increase of 34%. The budget supermini sold some 3,000 units more than the second best-selling car, the Volkswagen T-Roc.