In April 2024, the Austrian new car market recorded a significant increase in new car registrations. Combustion cars and hybrids saw an upswing, while demand for electric cars fell for the third consecutive year.
According to Statistics Austria, 21,337 cars were newly registered on the road in April 2024. That is 2,833 or 15.3% more than in April a year ago. The boom was particularly noticeable in vehicles with conventional combustion engines and hybrid drives. The number of newly registered cars with conventional combustion engines rose by 25.2% compared to the previous year. Petrol and diesel hybrid vehicles were particularly in demand, with demand increasing by 10.9% and 6.7% respectively. In contrast, purely electric vehicles recorded a 4.8% decline in new registrations.
The Austrian new car market remains dynamic and influenced by various factors. While electric cars continue to play an important role in the future of mobility, the current trend shows a clear focus on conventional combustion engines and hybrid vehicles. It remains to be seen how this development will continue in the coming months and what impact it will have on the overall market.
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Pure electric cars as losers
Despite general efforts to make mobility more sustainable, the attractiveness of electric cars in Austria appears to be temporarily decreasing. Both an NDR survey and a study by the German Academy of Engineering Sciences show that the price, limited range and lack of charging stations are the main reasons against buying electric cars. In practice, the currently available models usually offer a range of 150 to 230 kilometers and require around six to eight hours to be fully recharged from a household socket.
Tesla Y in the top position
However, there is no reason to panic, because in the period from March 2022 to March 2024, Austria recorded a steady increase in monthly new car registrations with electric drives. In March 2024, the number of fully electric passenger cars reached around 4,700 vehicles, the highest level in the last twelve months. A total of around 25,700 new cars were registered this month.
If you look at the monthly new registrations of electric cars in Austria by model from January to March 2024, it can be seen that the Tesla Model Y held the top position among electric cars in Austria. With 1,962 new registrations, it clearly outperformed its nearest competitor, the BMW i4, which only recorded 608 new registrations.
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