Increase in New Car Registrations Last Year

The market is still dominated by company purchases, which account for 68 percent of all new registrations. Among private buyers of new cars, the focus is on saving, as the statistics show: The most new registrations last year were for the small car Dacia Sandero, followed by the compact SUV Dacia Duster. The VW Golf was once again the overall winner in terms of registrations for both companies and private individuals.

However, a star from the Middle Kingdom shone particularly brightly. The Chinese manufacturer BYD, until recently largely unknown in this country, came third in new electric car registrations behind Tesla and BMW - with growth of 275 percent (from 1,024 to 3,840 cars last year, more than VW with its electric cars). Even though there was a decrease of 6.3 percent to 44,522 cars for pure electric cars in 2024, the hybrid - in combination with a petrol engine - was unstoppable. Here, the increase in registrations was 8.6 percent, while there was a decrease of 5.2 percent for diesel hybrids.

Diesel Big Loser in New Registrations

In the new vehicle market, diesel was the big loser, with more electric vehicles being newly registered than diesel vehicles in 2024. The situation is quite different in the used car sector. Half of the used cars that changed hands last year had a diesel engine installed. Overall, used car registrations increased by 8 percent to 820,629 vehicles. Contrary to the doom-mongering that electric cars are difficult to sell as used cars, they recorded a strong increase of 48.5 percent, albeit with a market share of 3.5 percent. "Compared to petrol and diesel cars, electric cars require on average two thirds less energy," the VCÖ pointed out.

There was a special feature in the new motorcycle registrations. They increased by a remarkable 30.8 percent - primarily in December, which is probably due to the expiring Euro standards for tens of thousands of KTM motorcycles that are in stock and were saved from premature end with daily registrations.

The faltering economy has left deep marks on the truck market. For tractor units, which are primarily used in transit, the decrease compared to 2023 was 16.8 percent. On the other hand, there was an increase of 7.8 percent for small vans for the flood of parcels. Farmers were also cautious, with a decrease of five percent for tractors. There was a sharp decline of 29 percent for motorhomes, which, however, had boomed in previous years.

VW Continues to Lead the Market Ahead of Subsidiary Skoda

With 253,789 newly registered cars, the numbers are still significantly below the 329,363 that were sold before Corona. However, compared to 2023, there was an increase of 6.1 percent or 14,639 vehicles, as reported by Statistik Austria on Tuesday. In total, alternative drive systems reached a share of 49.5 percent in 2024. Overall, the new registrations of motor vehicles increased to 369,246, an increase of 8.2 percent or 27,837 vehicles compared to 2023. By the end of 2024, around 7.42 million vehicles (plus 1.2 percent) were registered for traffic in Austria. 70.5 percent or about 5.23 million of these were cars (plus 0.9 percent). In total, Statistik Austria counted 571,855 trucks, 493,054 tractors, 20,050 semi-trailer vehicles, and 655,175 motorcycles.

VW continues to lead the market with a share of 14.2 percent of all new car registrations. This is followed by Skoda, BMW, and Audi. Among the ten most popular car brands, Peugeot was able to stand out with an increase of 64.3 percent. Things did not go so well for Hyundai (minus 8.8 percent). For 2025, car importers expect a slight increase in registrations compared to 2024.

CO2 Emissions Have Risen Again

The provisional average CO2 emissions of all newly registered cars in 2024 were 106 g/km according to the WLTP test procedure, thus increasing (2023: 104 g/km). The car lobby took this as an opportunity today to warn of an aging vehicle fleet and a further decline in electric cars sold. To prevent this, the pre-tax deductibility and the non-cash benefit for company cars as well as the purchase subsidy for private individuals must be maintained. According to initial statements by the possibly future FPÖ/ÖVP government, at least an increase in the mineral oil tax is off the table, Günther Kerle, spokesman for the car importers, was pleased to announce on Tuesday.

Klaus Edelsbrunner, chairman of the vehicle trade, pointed out to journalists the difficult situation of the dealers. Last year there was an increase in insolvencies of 22 percent. The standard consumption tax (NoVA) is very burdensome, it should at least be dropped again for small trucks.

(APA/Red)

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