2019 (Q1) Europe: Electric and Plug-In Hybrid Car Sales per EU and EFTA Country

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2019 (January to March): Norway was the largest market for electrically chargeable cars in Europe followed by Germany, Britain and France.

Peugeot E-Legend Concept Car
Peugeot E-Legend Concept Car at Geneva Auto Salon 2019

In the first quarter of 2019, the registration of electrically chargeable passenger vehicles in the European Union (EU) and EFTA countries increased by 41% to 126,885 cars. The sales of battery-electric cars grew by an even faster 88% to 83,676 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 2019 (Q1)

During the first three months of 2019, the market for electrically chargeable vehicles in the European Union expanded by 40% to 99,174 cars. If EFTA is added, the expansion was an even stronger 41,2% to 126,885 cars – largely due to electric cars remaining very popular in Norway.

The market for electrically chargeable vehicles in the EU and EFTA grew by more than 25,000 cars during the first quarter of 2019 to increase market share from 2% to 2.5% compared to the start of 2018.

European New Car Market by Fuel Types in 2019 (Q1)

The new car market in the EU and EFTA during the first three months of 2019 was divided in the following fuel types:

Fuel Type2019 (Q1) 2018 (Q1)% Change% Market Share
Total Market4,146,1524,282,134-3.2100
Petrol2,428,4402,355,3093.1
59.3
Diesel1,316,3781,602,126-17.832.2
Hybrid192,087144,52932.94.6
Electric:
– ECV:126,88589,87241.22.5
– – BEV83,67644,63787.52.0
– – PHEV43,20945,235-4.51.0
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 2019 (Q1)

New passenger vehicle registrations of electrically chargeable vehicles (ECV) in European Union and EFTA countries during Q1/2019 were as follows according to the ACEA:

CountryQ/2019Q1/2018% Change
AUSTRIA2,9772,25232.2
BELGIUM4,3183,9818.5
BULGARIA11255103.6
CZECH REPUBLIC197207-4.8
DENMARK2,2281,044113.4
ESTONIA21210.0
FINLAND1,8091,48421.9
FRANCE14,50310,90833.0
GERMANY23,32617,57432.7
GREECE826722.4
HUNGARY61348127.4
IRELAND2,051573257.9
ITALY2,1571,86715.5
LATVIA251838.9
LITHUANIA44417.3
NETHERLANDS11,7045,566110.3
POLAND62034579.7
PORTUGAL 3,0501,520100.7
ROMANIA2131959.2
SLOVAKIA10650112.0
SLOVENIA153170-10.0
SPAIN4,4802,202103.5
SWEDEN9,8066,07161.5
UNITED KINGDOM14,57914,1622.9
EUROPEAN UNION99,17470,85440.0
ICELAND500586-14.7
NORWAY23,40516,18244.6
SWITZERLAND3,8062,25069.2
EFTA27,71119,01845.7
EU + EFTA126,88589,87241.2

Battery Electric Vehicle Sales in Europe in 2019 (Q1)

Registrations of battery electric vehicles (BEV) in various European Union and EFTA member countries during the period January to March 2019 were as follows according to ACEA statistics:

CountryQ1/2019Q1/2018% Change
AUSTRIA2,5471,59959.3
BELGIUM2,196914140.3
BULGARIA944895.8
CZECH REPUBLIC1431337.5
DENMARK1,007194419.1
ESTONIA171241.7
FINLAND473175170.3
FRANCE10,5697,32244.3
GERMANY15,9449,12774.7
GREECE3818111.1
HUNGARY38131122.5
IRELAND1,435282408.9
ITALY1,18394125.7
LATVIA2411118.2
LITHUANIA44417.3
NETHERLANDS9,9254,867103.9
POLAND413149177.2
PORTUGAL 2,124726192.6
ROMANIA2131959.2
SLOVAKIA54508.0
SLOVENIA12310319.4
SPAIN2,7541,153138.9
SWEDEN4,0911,250227.3
UNITED KINGDOM5,9973,89554.0
EUROPEAN UNION61,78933,51684.4
ICELAND208101105.9
NORWAY18,6559,69492.4
SWITZERLAND3,0241,326128.1
EFTA21,88711,12196.8
EU + EFTA83,67644,63787.5

Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle Sales in Europe in 2019 (Q1)

Registrations of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) in various European Union and EFTA member countries during the first quarter of 2019 were as follows according to ACEA statistics:

CountryQ1/2019Q1/2018% Change
AUSTRIA430653-34.2
BELGIUM2,1223,067-30.8
BULGARIA187157.1
CZECH REPUBLIC5474-27.0
DENMARK1,22185043.6
ESTONIA49-55.6
FINLAND1,3361,3092.1
FRANCE3,9343,5869.7
GERMANY7,3828,447-12.6
GREECE4449-10.2
HUNGARY23217036.5
IRELAND616291111.7
ITALY9749265.2
LATVIA17-85.7
LITHUANIA2––
NETHERLANDS1,779699154.5
POLAND2071965.6
PORTUGAL 92679416.6
ROMANIA2––
SLOVAKIA3520–
SLOVENIA3067-55.2
SPAIN1,7261,04964.5
SWEDEN5,7154,82118.5
UNITED KINGDOM8,58210,267-16.4
EUROPEAN UNION37,38537,3380.1
ICELAND292485-39.8
NORWAY4,7506,488-26.8
SWITZERLAND782924-15.4
EFTA5,8247,897-26.3
EU + EFTA43,20945,235-4.5
1Includes extended-range electric vehicle (EREV)
2Distinction between BEV and PHEV not available
3Available as of 2019

Electric Car Sales in Europe During 2019 (Q1)

During the first quarter of 2019, Norway remained the largest European market for electrically chargeable vehicles followed again by Germany, the United Kingdom and France. With the exception of the UK, where sales were flat, the top four markets expanded by more than a 30%.

However, the fastest growing major European new car market for electric cars was the Netherlands that saw a 110% increased in sales of electrically chargeable vehicles. Netherlands moved ahead of Sweden that expanded by 62%. Electric car sales in Spain doubled to move from 10th to 7th largest market in Europe. In Belgium, electric chargeable vehicle sales increased by only 8.5%. In Switzerland, sales increase by twothirds while Portugal doubled sales to enter the top ten at the expense of Austria.

Norway remained the clear leader in terms of battery electric vehicles with sales increasing by 92% in the first quarter of 2019. Germany was the second largest European market for electric cars followed by France, the Netherlands and Britain. Sweden moved up two rank positions with sales up by 227%. Electric cars sales also more than doubled in Spain and Belgium.

Britain remained the leading market for plug-in hybrid cars in Europe in 2019 (Q1). However, sales of plug-in hybrids in the EU and EFTA were down with battery electric cars offering stronger competition. In both the UK and Germany, sales of plug-in hybrids were lower than a year ago. Sweden, helped by new regulations, moved ahead of Norway where plug-in hybrid sales were down by more than a quarter. 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.