2018 (Full Year) Europe: Electric and Plug-In Hybrid Car Sales per EU and EFTA Country

2018 (January to December): Norway was the largest market for electrically chargeable cars in Europe followed by Germany, Britain and France.

In full year 2018, the registration of electrically chargeable passenger vehicles in the European Union (EU) and EFTA countries increased by 33% to 384,000 cars. The sales of battery electric cars grew and even faster 48% to 201,000 cars. Norway remained the market leader for battery electric vehicles while the United Kingdom was the largest market for plug-in hybrid vehicles.

European New Electric Car Market in 2018 (Q1-Q4)

During full year 2018, the market for electrically chargeable vehicles in the European Union expanded by 38% to 301,847 cars. If EFTA is added, the expansion was a weaker 33% to 384,052 cars – largely due to electric cars being already popular in Norway a year ago. The market for electrically chargeable vehicles in the EU and EFTA grew by nearly 100,000 cars in 2018.

During the fourth quarter of of 2018, new passenger vehicle registrations in the EU and EFTA grew by a slower 26% to 110,048 cars.

European New Car Market by Fuel Types in 2018

The new car market in the EU and EFTA during 2018 was divided in the following fuel types:

Fuel Type2018 2017% Change% Market Share
Total Market15,624,48615,631,6870
100
Petrol8,752,7737,786,26812.4
56
Diesel5,522,8826,766,776-1835
Hybrid606,210455,653333.9
Electric:
– ECV:384,052289,07232.92.5
– – BEV201,284135,77548.2
1.3
– – PHEV182,768153,29719.21.2
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).
  • Hybrids include PHEV
  • Alternatively Powered include ECV, hybrids, natural gas, LPG and ethanol.
  • Excludes some smaller markets where suitable data is not available.

Electric Car Sales per European Union and EFTA Country in 2018 (Q1-Q4)

New passenger vehicle registrations of electrically chargeable vehicles (ECV) in European Union and EFTA countries during Q4/2018 and the full calendar year 2018 were as follows according to the ACEA:

–Q4/2018Q4/2017% ChangeFY 2018FY2017% Change
AUSTRIA2,5271,86435.68,6527,15420.9
BELGIUM2,8453,752-24.213,35314,459-7.6
BULGARIA877122.5220106107.5
CZECH REPUBLIC28193202.2981387153.5
DENMARK1,09872152.34,6791,334250.7
ESTONIA296383.311846156.5
FINLAND1,21496925.35,7083,05586.8
FRANCE14,51010,25441.545,62336,83523.9
GERMANY17,41317,694-1.667,65854,61723.9
GREECE846627.331519164.9
HUNGARY61346133.02,0701,19273.7
IRELAND1137256.91,972948108.0
ITALY2,5201,37083.99,7314,88699.2
LATVIA228175.09340132.5
LITHUANIA5715280.014352175.0
NETHERLANDS12,0863,515243.829,70811,042169.0
POLAND365377-3.21,3241,07722.9
PORTUGAL 2,3421,46160.37,8494,07892.5
ROMANIA1379150.5605188221.8
SLOVAKIA7180-11.329320940.2
SLOVENIA1591552.666345645.4
SPAIN4,3522,86152.111,8107,44858.6
SWEDEN8,3836,59327.228,33219,31946.7
UNITED KINGDOM15,06412,35421.959,94749,21721.8
EUROPEAN UNION86,37264,90333.1301,847218,33638.2
NORWAY20,65119,2177.572,68962,31316.7
SWITZERLAND3,0252,8426.49,5168,42313.0
EFTA23,67622,0597.382,20570,73616.2
EU + EFTA110,04886,96226.5384,052289,07232.9
Source: ACEA

Battery Electric Vehicle Sales in Europe in 2018 (Q1-4)

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

–Q4/2018Q4/2017% ChangeFY 2018FY2017% Change
AUSTRIA2,2781,35268.56,7645,43324.5
BELGIUM1,23466685.33,6472,71334.4
BULGARIA846823.519468185.3
CZECH REPUBLIC23493151.670338781.7
DENMARK617267131.11,551714117.2
ESTONIA133333.38526226.9
FINLAND235111111.777650254.6
FRANCE10,8396,16975.731,09524,96724.5
GERMANY11,5388,67333.036,21625,17843.8
GREECE312240.9875074.0
HUNGARY43331039.71,30074973.6
IRELAND594143.91,23362298.2
ITALY1,416590140.04,9972,022147.1
LATVIA185260.07322231.8
LITHUANIA5715280.014352175.0
NETHERLANDS11,1953,243245.226,5049,872168.5
POLAND20917221.562043542.5
PORTUGAL 1,268545132.74,0731,640148.4
ROMANIA1379150.5605188221.8
SLOVAKIA7180-11.329320940.2
SLOVENIA1198638.446728862.2
SPAIN2,5911,56665.55,9843,92052.7
SWEDEN3,100916238.47,0834,23167.4
UNITED KINGDOM4,2112,47370.315,51013,63213.8
EUROPEAN UNION51,98727,55788.7150,00397,92053.2
NORWAY14,7379,81150.246,14333,08039.5
SWITZERLAND1,6351,6300.35,1384,7757.6
EFTA16,37211,44143.151,28137,85535.5
EU + EFTA68,35938,99875.3201,284135,77548.2
Source: ACEA

Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle Sales in Europe in 2018 (Q1-Q4)

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

–Q4/2018Q4/2017ChangeFY 2018FY2017Change
AUSTRIA249512-51.41,8881,7219.7
BELGIUM1,6113,086-47.89,70611,746-17.4
BULGARIA330.02638-31.6
CZECH REPUBLIC247––278––
DENMARK4814545.93,128620404.5
ESTONIA163433.3332065.0
FINLAND97985814.14,9322,55393.2
FRANCE3,6714,085-10.114,52811,86822.4
GERMANY5,8759,021-34.931,44229,4396.8
GREECE534420.522814161.7
HUNGARY18015119.277044373.8
IRELAND543174.2739326126.7
ITALY1,10478041.54,7342,86465.3
LATVIA4333.3201811.1
LITHUANIA3––––––
NETHERLANDS891272227.63,2041,170173.8
POLAND156205-23.97046429.7
PORTUGAL 1,07491617.23,7762,43854.9
ROMANIA3––––––
SLOVAKIA3––––––
SLOVENIA4069-42.019616816.7
SPAIN1,7611,29536.05,8263,52865.1
SWEDEN5,2835,677-6.921,24915,08840.8
UNITED KINGDOM10,8539,8819.844,43735,58524.9
EUROPEAN UNION34,38537,346-7.9151,844120,41626.1
NORWAY5,9149,406-37.126,54629,233-9.2
SWITZERLAND1,3901,21214.74,3783,64820.0
EFTA7,30410,618-31.230,92432,881-6.0
EU + EFTA41,68947,964-13.1182,768153,29719.2
Source: ACEA

Electric Car Sales in Europe During 2018

During 2018, Norway remained the largest European market for electrically chargeable vehicles followed again by Germany, the United Kingdom and France. With the exception of Norway, the top four markets expanded by more than a fifth.

However, the fastest growing major European new car market for electric cars was the Netherlands that saw a 169% increased in sales of electrically chargeable vehicles. Netherlands moved ahead of Sweden that expanded by 47% and Belgium where the market contracted by 7.6%. Fast growth saw Spain and Italy move ahead of Switzerland. The fastest growing European electric car market was Denmark where sales were up 250%.

Norway remained the clear leader in terms of battery electric vehicles with sales increasing by another 40% in 2018. Germany was the second largest European market for electric cars followed by France, the Netherlands and Britain. The growth of electric cars in the UK in 2018 has been a surprisingly low 13.8% – only Switzerland registered a lower increase.

Britain remained the leading market for plug-in hybrid cars in Europe in 2018 with sales well ahead of Germany, Norway and Sweden. However, the image of PHEV took a bit of a bashing after reports that many were fleet vehicles that qualified for subsidies despite the charging cables never being used by drivers.

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.