Electric and hybrid car sales in EU triple in 2020 to reach 1 million
538,772 fully electric cars were sold in the European Union last year – up 117% from 2019
Sales of electric and plug-in hybrid cars in the European Union almost trebled to over 1 million vehicles last year, accounting for more than 10 per cent of overall sales, data showed on Thursday.
Renault’s Zoe hatchback took poll position thanks to strong sales in France and Germany in particular, with nearly 100,000 sold last year on 23 key European markets, according to industry analysis group Jato Dynamics.
Tesla’s Model 3 came in second with some 86,000 sold while Volkswagen’s ID3 took third place with nearly 56,000, despite launching only last autumn.
Jato expects the ID3 to surpass both rivals this year as VW also rolls out an electric SUV dubbed the ID4 as well as an ID5 coupe.
Overall, sales of alternatively-powered cars – including fuels like ethanol or natural gas – made up one-fourth (24.5 per cent) of the market last year, a figure that climbed to 34 per cent for the fourth quarter alone.
The jump in sales shows electrified vehicles are becoming more mainstream products after years of being a niche market and it came at a time when overall EU car sales plunged nearly 24 per cent to 9.9 million because of Covid-19 lockdowns.
The data released by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) showed sales of fully-electric and plug-in hybrids surged to 1.046 million vehicles from 387,808 in 2019.
Sales of self-charging hybrid cars climbed 59 per cent to 1.182 million last year while petrol and diesel vehicle sales fell 37 per cent and 32 per cent respectively, the data showed. Petrol cars remained the biggest seller, however, accounting for 48 per cent of all EU sales.
ACEA said that it expected auto sales to rebound 10 per cent this year as the pandemic is brought under control, with electric vehicles leading the way.
As well as having to meet stringent new EU carbon emissions targets, carmakers benefited from government subsidies for electric vehicles as part of pandemic recovery programmes, especially in France and Germany.
Sales of fully-electric vehicles more than doubled to 538,772 from 247,854 a year earlier.
Source cyprus-mail.com
