Sales Of Electric Cars And Plug-In Hybrids Rise Across Europe

New car registrations across Europe fell dramatically in July but sales of battery-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids continue to grow.

Data from JATO Dynamics reveals that 967,830 new cars were registered across 26 European markets in July. That was a 24 per cent decline from the 1.27 million units registered in July last year. Despite this, year-to-date sales remain positive with a total of 7,381,735 registrations, 17 per cent higher than the same period in 2020.

The market share for gasoline cars across Europe continues to fall. In July 2019, gas ICE vehicles accounted for 63.4 per cent of the mark. By July 2020, that had fallen to 59.8 per cent and in July 2021, was 59.0 per cent. Diesel registrations also decreased by 166,000 units between July 2020 and July 2021 and almost 207,000 between July 2019 and July 2021. Registrations of new electric vehicles rose by 49,000 between July 2020 and July 2021 and 125,000 units between July 2019 and July 2021.

Read Also: $25,000 “Baby” Tesla To Offer More Range Than Rival VW ID.3

The best-selling new car in Europe during July 2021 was the Dacia Sandero with 20,446 sales, followed closely by the Volkswagen Golf (19,425 units), Toyota Yaris (18,858 units), VW Polo (17,343 units), and the VW T-Roc (16,496 units). Meanwhile, the best-selling plug-in hybrid vehicle was the Ford Kuga with 4,247 registrations, beating out the Peugeot 3008 (3,039 units), and Volvo XC40 (2,931 units).

As for all-electric vehicles, the VW ID.3 led the charge with 5,433 registrations, placing it comfortably ahead of the Renault Zoe with 3,976 sales, Kia Niro (3,953) and the Skoda Enyaq iV (3,649).

“Consumers continue to respond positively to the deals and incentives attached to EVs which have made these vehicles far more competitive in terms of their pricing,” JATO Dynamics global analyst Felipe Munoz said in a statement. “We are beginning to see the impact of campaigns that favour EVs over ICE vehicles playout in the market, however the industry is not yet doing enough to enable EVs to absorb the losses sustained by traditional powertrains.”