The FTSE 100 (^FTSE) and European stocks were higher on Thursday as a string of strong corporate results offset news that sales of electric cars across the European Union tumbled by over 11% last month.
New figures from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) reported this morning that new car registrations fell for the first time this year in March, dropping by 5.2% to around one million units.
However, investors cheered news from the likes of easyJet (EZJ.L) which boosted other airline stocks after it cut losses despite taking a £40m hit from the Middle East conflict.
Traders will later be watching out for comments later today from Bank of England policymaker Megan Greene to gauge the outlook on interest rates.
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London’s benchmark index was 0.6% higher in early trade
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Germany’s DAX (^GDAXI) rose 0.2% and the CAC (^FCHI) in Paris headed 0.6% into the green
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The pan-European STOXX 600 (^STOXX) was up 0.3%
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Wall Street is set to open higher as S&P 500 futures (ES=F), Dow futures (YM=F) and Nasdaq futures (NQ=F) were all in the green
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EasyJet cuts winter losses by more than £50m
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The pound (GBPUSD=X) was up 0.2% against the dollar at 1.2478
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Electric vehicle sales fall in Europe
File photo dated 08/03/22 of a Tesla electric vehicle being charged in Hayes, west London. Households with insulation and clean tech such as heat pumps and electric cars are more (John Walton, PA Images) Electric vehicle sales tumbled in Europe last month with demand particularly drying up in Germany.
According to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, sales of battery-powered cars dropped 11.3% to 134,397 units, whilst sales in Europe’s largest economy fell 28.9%.
New car registrations fell for the first time this year during the month, dropping by 5.2% to around one million units.
The timing of the Easter holidays negatively impacted sales, ACEA said, with petrol sales down 10.2% and diesel registrations declining by 18.5%.
However, hybrid-electric car registrations rose by 12.6%.
🚨 BREAKING 🚨
📊 🚗 European car sales figures for March are fresh off the press!
📈 Year-on-year new EU car sales decreased by 5.2%. This marks the first decline in car sales of the year
🔋 The #batteryelectric market share slipped to a 13% share from last year’s 13.9%
— ACEA (@ACEA_auto) April 18, 2024
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