Electric vehicles already account for nearly a quarter of sales in Europe

Electric vehicles were the fastest-growing type of vehicle in Europe as of September, surpassing gasoline cars in registration numbers.

The figures come from ACEA and not only provide a clear picture of the European automotive market but also highlight an increasingly obvious trend: electrification. Conventional hybrids, which do not require plugging in, remain the best-selling vehicle type, but electric cars are gaining ground.

From January to September, 10,555,351 new cars were registered in Europe. Of these, 2,549,810 were fully electric, representing a 41.9% increase compared to the same period last year. With these results, electric vehicles reached a market share of 24.2%.

Electric vehicles have thus become the second-best-selling powertrain in Europe since January, only behind conventional hybrids which sold 3,794,062 units, accounting for about 35.9% of the market share. Nevertheless, their growth was more modest at just 9.9%.

Gasoline-powered vehicles, on the other hand, dropped to third place, with 2,208,849 cars registered, a 18% decrease compared to the same period last year. Diesel vehicles also continued to decline, with only 643,224 units recorded, a drop of 19.7%.

In terms of market share, gasoline cars accounted for 20.9% of registrations, while diesel cars made up 6.1%. Throughout the year, more fully electric cars were registered than gasoline cars.

Plug-in hybrids also showed significant growth. Although they represent a smaller share of the market at 10.7%, the approximately 1,128,875 units registered represent a 22.4% increase compared to the same period last year.

ADVERTISING

Want a hybrid?

One of these used cars might be the vehicle you’re looking for.

What about September?

In September, the decline in registrations for fully combustion-powered cars was even more pronounced: 20.6% (239,259 units) for gasoline cars, and 28.2% (56,166 units) for diesel cars.

In the same period, 416,433 electric vehicles were registered, representing a 59.9% increase — far surpassing the sales of gasoline-powered cars. Sales of conventional hybrids and plug-in hybrids also rose by 5.3% (458,000 units) and 24% (164,470 units), respectively.