2018 (January to June) Europe: Electric and Hybrid Car Sales per EU and EFTA Country

During the first half of 2018, Norway was the largest market for electric cars in Europe followed by Germany and the UK.

During the first semester of 2018, Norway remained the leading electric car market in Europe. Germany is fast catching up and overtook Britain as the second largest market for electrically chargeable vehicles. Norway remained the clear leader for battery electric vehicles while Germany moved ahead of France. Britain remained the leader in plug-in hybrids while Germany overtook Norway as the second largest plug-in hybrid car market in Europe. France was the largest market for hybrid vehicles in Europe during the first half of 2018 followed by Germany and the UK.

European New Electric Car Market in 2018 (First Semester)

During the first half of 2018, new electrically chargeable passenger vehicle registrations in the EU and EFTA grew by 42.3% to 143,017 cars – around 45,000 more electric cars than were registered during the first semester of 2017. The growth in battery electric vehicles was slightly lower at 39% with 42% growth during the second quarter of 2018.

The new car market was divided in the following fuel types:

Fuel Type 2018 (HY) 2017 (HY) % Change % Market Share
Total Market 8,695,785 8,461,963 2.8  
Petrol 4,828,576 4,129,902 16.9 56.7
Diesel 3,177,998 3,801,620 -16.4 36.3
Alternatively Powered: 621,513 463,804 34 6.9
– ECV: 183,285 128,771 42.3 1.7
– – BEV 88,286 63,667 38.7  
– – PHEV 94,999 65,104 45.9  
Source: ACEA        

Note:

  • Terminology used in these ACEA statistics: Electrically chargeable vehicle (ECV) = battery electric vehicles (BEV) + extended-range electric vehicles (EREV) + fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV) + plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV).
  • Alternative fuel include all electric vehicles but also natural gas vehicles (NGV), LPG-fueled vehicles and ethanol (E85) vehicles.
  • Excludes some smaller markets where suitable data is not available.

Electric Car Sales per European Union and EFTA Country in 2018 (First Half)

New passenger vehicle registrations of electrically chargeable vehicles (ECV) in European Union and EFTA countries during the second quarter (Q2) 2018 and first half (HY) 2018 were as follows according to the ACEA:

  Q2/2018 Q2/2017 % Change HY 2018 HY2017 % Change
AUSTRIA 2,084 1,880 10.9 4,336 3,386 28.1
BELGIUM 3,690 4,201 -12.2 7,671 7,342 4.5
BULGARIA 24 11 118.2 79 13 507.7
CZECH REPUBLIC 268 80 235.0 483 192 151.6
DENMARK 1,142 151 656.3 2,176 247 781.0
ESTONIA 28 12 133.3 46 29 58.6
FINLAND 1,744 680 156.5 3,228 1,285 151.2
FRANCE 10,605 9,117 16.3 21,513 18,464 16.5
GERMANY 16,406 12,137 35.2 33,980 22,465 51.3
GREECE 102 45 126.7 169 82 106.1
HUNGARY 538 277 94.2 1,019 461 121.0
IRELAND 389 100 289.0 962 535 79.8
ITALY 2,512 1,261 99.2 4,382 2,322 88.7
LATVIA 33 10 230.0 54 23 134.8
LITHUANIA 24 11 118.2 65 22 195.5
NETHERLANDS 5,184 2,376 118.2 10,607 4,848 118.8
POLAND 330 215 53.5 672 374 79.7
PORTUGAL 2,152 906 137.5 3,671 1,664 120.6
ROMANIA 102 12 750.0 297 23 1,191.3
SLOVAKIA 169 77 119.5 224 110 103.6
SLOVENIA 190 112 69.6 360 186 93.5
SPAIN 2,817 1,480 90.3 5,016 2,488 101.6
SWEDEN 6,405 4,296 49.1 12,615 8,106 55.6
UNITED KINGDOM 15,230 10,755 41.6 29,392 23,419 25.5
EUROPEAN UNION 72,168 50,202 43.8 143,017 98,086 45.8
EU15 70,462 49,385 42.7 139,718 96,653 44.6
EU (New Members) 1,706 817 108.8 3,299 1,433 130.2
NORWAY 19,607 13,713 43.0 35,789 27,202 31.6
SWITZERLAND 2,230 1,828 22.0 4,479 3,483 28.6
EFTA 21,837 15,541 40.5 40,268 30,685 31.2
EU + EFTA 94,005 65,743 43.0 183,285 128,771 42.3
EU15 + EFTA 92,299 64,926 42.2 179,986 127,338 41.3
Source: ACEA            

Battery Electric Vehicle Sales in Europe in 2018 (Half Year)

Registrations of battery electric vehicles (BEV) in various European Union and EFTA member countries during the period January to June 2018 were as follows according to ACEA statistics:

  Q2/2018 Q2/2017 % Change HY 2018 HY2017 % Change
AUSTRIA 1,489 1,453 2.5 3,088 2,679 15.3
BELGIUM 791 695 13.8 1,705 1,483 15.0
BULGARIA 16 0 #DIV/0! 64 0 #DIV/0!
CZECH REPUBLIC 185 80 131.3 318 192 65.6
DENMARK 339 98 245.9 524 146 258.9
ESTONIA 22 6 266.7 34 19 78.9
FINLAND 177 143 23.8 352 272 29.4
FRANCE 7,082 6,159 15.0 14,404 13,563 6.2
GERMANY 8,170 5,135 59.1 17,297 10,199 69.6
GREECE 26 8 225.0 43 12 258.3
HUNGARY 298 169 76.3 609 288 111.5
IRELAND 247 76 225.0 529 374 41.4
ITALY 1,314 473 177.8 2,255 1,002 125.0
LATVIA 28 6 366.7 39 11 254.5
LITHUANIA 24 11 118.2 65 22 195.5
NETHERLANDS 4,634 2,099 120.8 9,501 4,233 124.5
POLAND 130 59 120.3 279 125 123.2
PORTUGAL 1,142 360 217.2 1,868 729 156.2
ROMANIA 102 12 750.0 297 23 1,191.3
SLOVAKIA 169 77 119.5 224 110 103.6
SLOVENIA 143 73 95.9 246 131 87.8
SPAIN 1,105 678 63.0 2,258 1,266 78.4
SWEDEN 994 1,195 -16.8 2,244 2,243 0.04
UNITED KINGDOM 3,575 3,062 16.8 7,470 7,716 -3.2
EUROPEAN UNION 32,202 22,127 45.5 65,713 46,838 40.3
EU15 31,085 21,634 43.7 63,538 45,917 38.4
EU (New Members) 1,117 493 126.6 2,175 921 136.2
NORWAY 10,451 7,812 33.8 20,145 14,805 36.1
SWITZERLAND 1,103 971 13.6 2,428 2,024 20.0
EFTA 11,554 8,783 31.5 22,573 16,829 34.1
EU + EFTA 43,756 30,910 41.6 88,286 63,667 38.7
EU15 + EFTA 42,639 30,417 40.2 86,111 62,746 37.2
Source: ACEA            

Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle Sales in Europe in 2018 (Half Year)

Registrations of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) in various European Union and EFTA member countries during the second quarter (Q2) 2018 and first half (HY) 2018 were as follows according to ACEA statistics:

  Q2/2018 Q2/2017 % Change HY 2018 HY2017 % Change
AUSTRIA 595 427 39.3 1,248 707 76.5
BELGIUM 2,899 3,506 -17.3 5,966 5,859 1.8
BULGARIA 8 11 -27.3 15 13 15.4
CZECH REPUBLIC2 83 – #DIV/0! 165 – #DIV/0!
DENMARK 803 53 1,415.1 1,652 101 1,535.6
ESTONIA 6 6 0.0 12 10 20.0
FINLAND 1,567 537 191.8 2,876 1,013 183.9
FRANCE 3,523 2,958 19.1 7,109 4,901 45.1
GERMANY 8,236 7,002 17.6 16,683 12,266 36.0
GREECE 76 37 105.4 126 70 80.0
HUNGARY 240 108 122.2 410 173 137.0
IRELAND 142 24 491.7 433 161 168.9
ITALY 1,198 788 52.0 2,127 1,320 61.1
LATVIA 5 4 25.0 15 12 25.0
LITHUANIA3 – –   – –  
NETHERLANDS 550 277 98.6 1,106 615 79.8
POLAND 200 156 28.2 393 249 57.8
PORTUGAL 1,010 546 85.0 1,803 935 92.8
ROMANIA3 – –   – –  
SLOVAKIA3 – –   – –  
SLOVENIA 47 39 20.5 114 55 107.3
SPAIN 1,712 802 113.5 2,758 1,222 125.7
SWEDEN 5,411 3,101 74.5 10,371 5,863 76.9
UNITED KINGDOM 11,655 7,693 51.5 21,922 15,703 39.6
EUROPEAN UNION 39,966 28,075 42.4 77,304 51,248 50.8
EU15 39,377 27,751 41.9 76,180 50,736 50.1
EU (New Members) 589 324 81.8 1,124 512 119.5
NORWAY 9,156 5,901 55.2 15,644 12,397 26.2
SWITZERLAND 1,127 857 31.5 2,051 1,459 40.6
EFTA 10,283 6,758 52.2 17,695 13,856 27.7
EU + EFTA 50,249 34,833 44.3 94,999 65,104 45.9
EU15 + EFTA 49,660 34,509 43.9 93,875 64,592 45.3
Source: ACEA            

Electric Car Sales in Europe During 2018 (Half Year)

During the first half of 2018, Norway remained the largest market for electric cars while Germany moved ahead of the United Kingdom.

Norway remained the market leader in Europe for battery electric cars while Germany moved ahead of France with a 70% increase in the sale of electric cars. The UK was the only European country with lower battery electric vehicle sales during the first half of 2018 while sales in the Netherlands and Italy more than doubled.

The Swedish electric car market was negative during the second quarter of 2018 in anticipation of a tax regime change in July 2018. As a result, sales of non-electric cars that will be taxed heavier in future increased dramatically in the months leading up to the tax regime change. A very weak third quarter is expected.

The UK remained the largest market in Europe for plug-in hybrids while Germany finally surpassed Norway to take second place. The number of plug-in hybrids sold in Denmark increased 15 fold, although the total number remains relatively low.

Hybrid Electric Vehicles Sales in Europe in 2018 (First Half)

Registrations of new hybrid electric vehicles (full and mild hybrids) were as follows in various European Union and EFTA countries during the second quarter and the first half of 2018 according to the ACEA:

  Q2/2018 Q2/2017 % Change HY 2018 HY2017 % Change
AUSTRIA 1,998 1,635 22.2 3,682 3,309 11.3
BELGIUM 4,120 3,064 34.5 8,613 7,310 17.8
BULGARIA 372 349 6.6 708 588 20.4
CZECH REPUBLIC 928 723 28.4 1,648 1,343 22.7
DENMARK 2,237 1,953 14.5 4,554 3,950 15.3
ESTONIA 444 347 28.0 774 637 21.5
FINLAND 3,376 2,237 50.9 6,368 4,435 43.6
FRANCE 23,601 15,111 56.2 45,406 34,460 31.8
GERMANY 24,387 13,282 83.6 44,221 25,254 75.1
GREECE 856 509 68.2 1,705 998 70.8
HUNGARY 1,442 1,006 43.3 2,564 1,717 49.3
IRELAND 817 511 59.9 4,709 2,874 63.8
ITALY 21,782 17,089 27.5 42,076 32,454 29.6
LATVIA 83 47 76.6 167 92 81.5
LITHUANIA 681 147 363.3 1,129 282 300.4
NETHERLANDS 6,205 4,250 46.0 11,702 8,901 31.5
POLAND 5,306 3,784 40.2 10,805 8,516 26.9
PORTUGAL 2,023 1,155 75.2 3,687 2,168 70.1
ROMANIA 768 424 81.1 1,533 817 87.6
SLOVAKIA 654 532 22.9 1,203 859 40.0
SLOVENIA 340 259 31.3 745 456 63.4
SPAIN 21,030 14,223 47.9 37,672 26,912 40.0
SWEDEN 7,461 4,507 65.5 12,458 9,128 36.5
UNITED KINGDOM 20,924 14,643 42.9 43,455 35,239 23.3
EUROPEAN UNION 151,835 101,787 49.2 291,584 212,699 37.1
EU15 140,817 94,169 49.5 270,308 197,392 36.9
EU (New Members) 11,018 7,618 44.6 21,276 15,307 39.0
NORWAY 5,165 5,180 -0.3 8,778 10,606 -17.2
SWITZERLAND 2,775 2,303 20.5 4,847 4,067 19.2
EFTA 7,940 7,483 6.1 13,625 14,673 -7.1
EU + EFTA 159,775 109,270 46.2 305,209 227,372 34.2
EU15 + EFTA 148,757 101,652 46.3 283,933 212,065 33.9
Source: ACEA            

France was the biggest market for hybrid vehicles in Europe during the first half of 2018. It was closely followed by Germany, which experienced a 75% growth in hybrid car sales during the first semester of 2018 with sales increasing by 84% during the second quarter of the year.

Despite sales of hybrids increasing by nearly a quarter, the British market slipped from first during the first half of 2018 to only the third largest European market for hybrid cars in 2018. Norway was the only European market with weaker hybrid sales in 2018.

Electric Car Sales in the European Union (EU) and EFTA Countries

Electric Car Sales per EU and EFTA Country:

About the author:

Henk Bekker

Henk Bekker is a freelance writer with over 20 years of experience in online writing. His best-selling cars website has been reporting car sales statistics since 2008 with classic car auction prices focusing on the most expensive automobiles sold at public auctions in the past decade. He also owns the travel websites European-Traveler.com and Lake Geneva Switzerland. Henk holds an MBA from Edinburgh Business School and an MSc in Finance from the University of London.