EU to Force Car-Rental Firms to Buy EVs Only From 2030: Bild
Under the deliberations, companies like Sixt SE and Europcar Mobility Group SA would only be allowed to purchase electric vehicles from that date, the publication said, citing European Union sources it didn't identify.
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Europe's new car market reverses in June amid rising Chinese competition
Europe's new car market posted a sharp downturn in June, with monthly registrations falling by 4.4% year-on-year to 1.25 million units, according to data from JATO Dynamics covering 28 European markets. The decline was led by steep drops in Italy (-17%), Belgium (-16%), and Germany (-14%), while Romania recorded an alarming 50% fall in volumes. 'This is not an isolated dip,' said Felipe Munoz, Global Analyst at JATO Dynamics, a UK-based provider of automotive data, analysis, and intelligence. 'Persistently high prices, economic uncertainty, and the long tail of the pandemic are weighing on consumer confidence.' He noted that the region has lost over 2.5 million units in annual sales since 2019. So far this year, 6.84 million new cars have been registered across the region — 17,728 fewer than in the same period last year, marking a 0.3% year-on-year decline. Chinese brands surge As Europe's overall market contracts, Chinese automakers are gaining ground rapidly. In the first half of 2025, their market share nearly doubled to 5.1% — just shy of Mercedes-Benz (5.2%) and ahead of Ford (3.8%). In June alone, Chinese brands outsold Mercedes. Driving this growth are five key players: BYD, Jaecoo, Omoda, Leapmotor, and Xpeng. BYD's aggressive pricing helped it register over 70,500 units in H1 — up 311% year-on-year — with 15,565 units in June alone. Its Seal U plug-in hybrid tied with the Volkswagen Tiguan as the best-selling PHEV last month. Leapmotor, boosted by strong sales of the T03 and C10, registered more than 8,300 units in June. Meanwhile, Xpeng emerged as the leading high-end Chinese brand, with 8,338 units sold in H1 — most of them G6 SUVs. Legacy brands struggle Major players are feeling the heat. Stellantis saw its market share fall to 15.3% in H1, its lowest since the group's creation in 2021. Registrations dropped by 8.6% in the first half, and 11.7% in June. 'Stellantis is suffering from a lack of new models and a heavy reliance on more expensive BEVs,' Munoz said. Tesla also saw market share shrink, falling from 2.4% in H1 2024 to 1.6% this year — overtaken by SAIC-owned MG. The updated Model Y has yet to deliver a significant sales boost, with registrations up just 0.1% year-on-year in June. BEVs break one-million barrier Despite headwinds, battery-electric vehicle (BEV) registrations passed the one-million mark for the first time in H1 — totalling 1.19 million units, up 25% year-on-year. June's BEV growth, however, slowed to 15%. BEVs now account for 17.4% of the new car market, led by Norway, Denmark, and the Netherlands. Ford and Volkswagen Group posted strong increases in BEV share, while BYD and SAIC shifted toward other powertrains amid tariff concerns. Renault dominates model rankings The Renault Clio topped the sales charts in June with over 27,200 registrations, ahead of the Tesla Model Y. For H1, the Dacia Sandero — also part of Renault Group — took the top spot overall. Among the fastest-growing models were the MG3 (+258%), Fiat/Abarth 600 (+400%), and Audi A5 (+149%). New entrants like the Renault Symbioz and Jaecoo 7 also made strong debuts, registering 41,730 and 37,700 units respectively. Europe's auto market remains under pressure as macroeconomic conditions weigh on consumer demand. Yet, in this uncertain environment, the rise of Chinese brands and the continued growth of BEVs highlight a market in rapid transition. As Munoz put it, 'The post-pandemic market reality is taking shape — and it's a very different landscape from what we knew just a few years ago.' "Europe's new car market reverses in June amid rising Chinese competition" was originally created and published by Motor Finance Online, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
2 minutes ago
- Yahoo
No plans to get Big Tech to pay digital law compliance costs, EU tech chief says
By Foo Yun Chee BRUSSELS (Reuters) -The European Commission will not ask Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta Platforms and Microsoft to pay the cost of monitoring their compliance with a new digital law, the EU tech chief said on Wednesday. Germany and European Parliament lawmakers have lobbied for a supervisory fee to be levied on Big Tech to help EU antitrust regulators better enforce the Digital Markets Act. The European Commission Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen, who is responsible for the technology sector, said rules were always under review and she would monitor developments, but had no plans to make the companies pay despite the enormous volume of monitoring work. "So it's always, of course, there is this possibility, but now we are not having any new proposal on that," Virkkunen told Reuters in an interview. The landmark legislation, which has been enforced since 2023, sets out a list of dos and don'ts aimed at curbing the six companies' power and giving consumers more choice. The group of Big Tech companies, which includes were picked because they provide a core platform service for business users. Proponents of a DMA supervisory fee said it should be similar to the levy imposed on big online platforms subject to another piece of legislation called the Digital Services Tax that requires companies to do more to police content on their sites. The digital services supervisory fee amounts to 0.05% of a company's annual worldwide net income. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
9 minutes ago
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Bean vs. cup: Where is the most expensive takeaway coffee in Europe?
For many of us, a cup of coffee — or maybe a few — is an essential ritual that powers us through the working day. In 2023-24, approximately 10.62 billion kilograms of coffee were consumed worldwide, a slight increase from about 10.38bn kg in the previous year, according to Statista. While for some, a cheap cup of instant coffee made in the work kitchenette will suffice, others have developed a taste for 'a posh coffee' — often made by a hipster in a work apron. But how much is a cup of this sweet nectar costing us, are we being ripped off, and how does pricing vary across Europe? How much coffee is Europe buying? Of the 27 EU countries and the UK, surveyed in Pressat's workplace coffee survey between January and March 2025, workers in the UK are buying the most takeaway coffees, at an average of 1.96 cups per day. This was closely followed by Belgium (1.79 cups), Poland (1.77 cups), France (1.76 cups) and Romania (1.68 cups). At the other end of the scale, the most frugal with their coffee buying are workers in Luxembourg, buying an average of 0.82 cups per day. Also controlling their takeaway coffee expenditure are workers in Hungary (0.83 cups), the Czech Republic (0.84 cups) and Sweden (0.9 cups). It then may be surprising to discover that as the fourth biggest buyer of takeaway coffees in Europe, France is paying the most per cup, at an average price of €3.42. Stereotypes usually lead us to believe that the French like their coffee short, dark and strong. However, of the workers surveyed, just 8.94% of them were buying an espresso to take away. In fact, the most popular takeaway coffee choice was a caffe latte (17.02%), followed by a caffe macchiato (16.17%). The second most expensive takeaway coffees can be found in Lithuania, where the average cup price is €3.39 and the most popular style of drink is split between a cappuccino and a cortado (both are preferred by 14.87% of respondents). The cheapest cup can be found, perhaps surprisingly, in Denmark, with an average price of €1.89. The Danes have a medium coffee addiction, with average workers buying 1.32 cups of takeaway coffee per day — and preferring to sip an Americano. In fact, Denmark was the only country where the average cup price was under €2, with their closest competitors being Slovakia (€2.08) and Cyprus (€2.09). Related Does coffee fight ageing? What the science really shows about it being good for your health The cost of love: Europe's most expensive and cheapest cities for a date Cappuccino index A slightly different picture emerges from data on the average price of a cappuccino in Europe's capital cities, collected by It turns out that the highest price in Europe for the milky coffee is paid in Copenhagen. In the Danish capital, a cappuccino costs an average of €5.81 — considerably higher than the average price of an unspecified type of coffee in Denmark. Only in two other countries does a cappuccino cost more than €5: that's Iceland, with a price of €5.33 per cup, and Switzerland with a price of €5.27. More than €4 per cappuccino is paid in Scandinavia, the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands, France and Austria. At the other end of the scale are the countries of Eastern Europe, the Balkan Peninsula and Italy. In its homeland, a cup of cappuccino costs only €1.53 — but the cheapest cup can be found in Kosovo (€1.27) and Ukraine (€1.36). Poles, who often complain about the high prices of coffee in cafes, are somewhere in the middle of the European scale, with a cup of cappuccino in Warsaw sold for €3.64. This does not mean, however, that Polish grievances are completely unjustified. Apart from Germany, all of Poland's neighbouring countries have lower coffee prices. 'A cappuccino in Warsaw costs 18 zlotys (€4.24), while in Bari it costs €1.50. We can see that Warsaw prices, which have spread across the country, are definitely higher than elsewhere. And it doesn't have to be that way at all,' Janusz Piechocinski, an economist and former Polish economy minister, told Euronews. 'Poland is the fifth largest producer and exporter of coffee in Europe. Polish companies import more than 200,000 tons of beans, roast and then export also in the modern e-commerce channel. So we have an efficient production chain created, and yet prices for the customer are high. Why? It may come from higher real estate prices and taxes than elsewhere, which raise the cost of maintaining restaurants and cafes.' Are we overpaying for our coffee? It takes around 7 to 9g of coffee to make a single espresso which equates to €0.00009 worth of coffee at current arabica bean trading prices (for a 9g serving). That seems like a huge markup, but of course, that would be a huge oversimplification. Coffee shops also need to factor in the cost of staffing, as well as, takeaway cups, energy to power the venue, and coffee additions like milks, syrups and chocolate. Though it's hard to compare exactly how much businesses are paying for their energy, the average cost of electricity for non-household, medium-sized consumers in the EU is €155.80/MWh. That's according to Eurostat data from 2024. The data showed that Ireland paid the most for electricity in the EU, at €254.30/MWh. Only three other countries tipped over the €200 mark: Croatia (€216.90), Hungary (€205.50) and Luxembourg (€204.10). Among the EU's big four economies, the prices varied dramatically: France (€163.90), Spain, (€121.70), Italy (€151.50) and Germany (€197.60). The cheapest energy in the EU could be found in Norway (€79.10) Related Cost of living: Which are the cheapest and most expensive countries in Europe? UK wine duty: Are hotter countries really being taxed more on their wine? Do coffee prices in Europe align with incomes? If we take a look at takeaway coffee pricing versus salaries across the continent, who is getting the best value for money? France, which has the highest cup price, had an average take-home pay for a single person without children just above the EU average, with French singles taking home €32,354 per year, according to Eurostat 2024 data. This means the average coffee is about 0.0106% of take-home pay. Meanwhile in Denmark, where net pay is €43,913, coffee is proportionately even cheaper, at just 0.004% of a salary. And home to the second-most-expensive coffee in Europe, consumers in Lithuania are getting particularly bad value. Citizens' average net salary is €15,909, meaning a cup of coffee costs around 0.021% of their annual take-home pay. The higher-earning countries appear to be getting better value for money. Workers in Luxembourg on average take home €50,410 per year and pay around €3 per coffee. That's just 0.005% of their salary. Cappuccino index by salary Using the data on the average monthly salary after taxes in European cities, we can take a closer look at how many cups of cappuccino the residents can buy. In terms of cappuccino affordability, Italy ranked highest. In Rome, the average monthly salary can buy 1,399 cups of this type of coffee, while Switzerland's Bern (1378 cups) and Luxembourg (1347 cups) fared marginally worse. The cappuccino index also clearly divides the continent in half. In Western European countries (with the exception of Portugal), a salary is enough for at least 750 cups of cappuccino, while in Eastern Europe, takeaway coffee is more unaffordable. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
