Sales of New Electric Cars in Europe rose 22.7% in 1Q2022

Sales of new electrically-chargeable passenger cars (battery electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles) reached 548 thousand in the first quarter of 2022 in the enlarged Europe (EU plus Iceland, Norway and Switzerland), according to ACEA. This is 22.7% more, or 447 thousand more than in the previous year.

Share of electric chargeable vehicles increased to 22.1% of all new passenger cars sold in 1Q2022, up from 16.0% seen in the first quarter of 2021. Most electric vehicles (152 thousand) were sold in Germany (up 6.08% yoy), followed by the United Kingdom (93.9 thousand, up 60.9%), France with 72.8 thousand thousand cars (up 18.0%), 37.4 thousand new vehicles were registered in Sweden (up 15.4%) and 30.9 thousand in Italy (up 3.81%). The five largest countries accounted for 70.5% of total new vehicles registered in the first quarter of 2022:

As partly seen above, the sale of battery-electric (BEV) increased by 59.3% when compared to last year, while registration of plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEV) fell by 6.72%.

In relative terms, Norway liked the electric chargeable vehicles the most in the first quarter of 2022 with 90.1% of all new passenger cars sold followed by Iceland (65.9%) and Sweden (53.6%).

On the other end of the scale was Cyprus with only 3.30%, Czechia with 3.25% and Bulgaria with just 2.76% of electric cars sold, as % of total:

When hybrid electric vehicles (cars that combine a conventional internal combustion engine system with an electric propulsion system) and other alternatively-powered cars (such as natural gas vehicles (NGV), LPG-fueled vehicles and ethanol (E85) vehicles) are included, total sales of alternatively-powered cars (other than using diesel or petrol) amounted to 1,240 thousand vehicles in the first quarter of 2022. This is 13.1% more, or 144 thousand more than in the previous year.

Together with electric chargeable vehicles, the share of total alternatively-powered vehicles increased to 50.0% of all new passenger cars sold in 1Q2022, up from 39.2% seen in the first quarter of 2021:

In relative terms, Norway liked the alternatively-powered vehicles the most in the first quarter of 2022 with 93.8% of all new passenger cars sold followed by Iceland (80.2%) and Belgium (77.1%). On the other hand, alternatively-fuelled cars represented only 20.5% of all cars sold in Slovenia, 20.0% in the Czechia and 5.83% in Bulgaria, according to ACEA.

Sales of traditionally-powered vehicles using petrol and diesel reached 1,240 thousand in the first quarter of 2022 in the enlarged Europe, according to ACEA. This is 27%, or 458 thousand fewer than in the previous year.

Some 869 thousand petrol-powered vehicles were sold, down 23.1% when compared to a year ago. The share decreased to 35.1% of all new passenger cars sold in 1Q2022, down from 40.4% seen in the first quarter of 2021. Share of diesel-powered cars fell to 15.0% (from 20.3% in 1Q2021) with 371 thousand cars sold in the first quarter of 2022.

As a result, share of traditionally-powered cars amounted to 50.0% of all new passenger cars sold in 1Q2022, down from 60.8% seen in the first quarter of 2021.

In relative terms, Bulgaria liked the petrol-fuelled vehicles the most in the first quarter of 2022 with 86.6% of all new passenger cars sold followed by Cyprus (63.3%) and Slovenia (61.8%). On the other hand, diesel-powered cars were preferred most in Ireland (25.8% of all cars sold), followed by Luxembourg (with 23.5%) and the Czechia (23.0%).