"September 2024 provided the first genuine market health check data this year, with West European new BEV passenger car registrations rising by 13.5% y/y. That contributed to nearly halving the year-to-date volume losses to 2.7%y/y after 9 months from -5.1% recorded during the opening 8 months. It also went some way to extinguish fears of a self-combusting BEV market following the somewhat muted but expected opening 8-months of the year performance. The notable decline between January and August was primarily due to a German anomaly linked to the autumn 2023 withdrawal of purchase subsidies for corporate consumers last year and the resultant hangover. Taking into account that OEMs tend to limit BEV deliveries in a year prior to a sharpening of corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) regulatory targets, in choosing to bolster order banks and hold back volume until the opening months of the new year, the market is performing as expected. It can be seen as a period of recuperating energy before embarking on a further one-way regulatory-pushed migration journey to BEVs from 2025 onwards. September's over 20% BEV penetration level – only the fifth time on record – thanks to the September boost from the UK, indicated that flight will soon resume once again."