Europe car sales rise 10% in September as EV surge offsets combustion slump

By Amir Orusov

Oct 22 (Reuters) - Strong demand for electrified cars helped Europe's new-car market grow in September, offsetting another sharp decline in petrol and diesel vehicle sales, data from the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association showed on Thursday.

New-car registrations, a proxy for sales, rose 10.2% year-on-year to 1.36 million vehicles across the European Union, Britain and the European Free Trade Association, ACEA said.

Demand for electrified vehicles remained strong across major European markets, supported by purchase incentives and a broader model lineup.

• Battery-electric, plug-in hybrid and hybrid car registrations jumped 59.9%, 24% and 5.3%, respectively, and together accounted for 76.2% of all new vehicles

• Petrol and diesel registrations fell 20.6% and 28.2%

• Chinese automakers continued to gain ground, with Chery and BYD nearly tripling and doubling sales, respectively, while Geely and SAIC reported increases of more than 33% and 23%

• The four Chinese carmakers' combined market share rose to 14.6% from 9.6% a year earlier

• Registrations at Volkswagen and Renault declined between 2.9% and 0.7%, while Stellantis gained 4.5%; the three automakers' combined market share fell to 43.7% from 48.4%

(Reporting by Amir Orusov; Editing by Tasim Zahid)