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Volkswagen was the best-selling car brand in December 2024, based on new registrations in the European Union. Volkswagen's car sales amounted to over * units that month, a decrease of *** percent year-on-year. 

Chip shortage upends recovery

EU car sales dipped by about ** percent between September 2020 and 2021, most likely as a result of low production levels caused by a shortage of microchips. The European car market had shown signs of a recovery in the past years after contracting significantly between March and August 2020 with car sales in the ** European markets tumbling to their lowest level in April 2020 at ** units before bouncing back to around ** in May and almost *** million in July, just *** percent lower than 2019's figures. In 2020, the worst-hit countries included Croatia, Portugal, and Bulgaria, where car sales declined by more than ** percent year-on-year. Germany returned to its position as the largest market for passenger cars in Europe after being briefly overtaken by France in June 2020. As the brand with the highest market share in Germany, Volkswagen also managed to keep its leading position in the EU car market.

A shift to electric vehicles

December 2023 sales marked a clear shift towards electric mobility in the European Union, with Tesla entering the ranking of the best-selling brands for that month. By December 2024, the American EV giant remained among the December bestsellers. The brand increased its December sales by some *** percent year-over-year. Other brands are also committing to electrifying their model range, with companies such as the BMW Group and Geely reporting high levels of research and development intensity.