2018 (Q1) Europe: Electric and Hybrid Car Sales per EU and EFTA Country

Germany, Norway and Britain were the leading markets for electrically chargeable passenger vehicle registrations in the European Union and EFTA during the first quarter of 2018.

BMW i8 Roadster

The market for electrically chargeable vehicles expanded by 47% in the European Union during the first three months of 2018. Sales of battery electric cars were up in the European Union by more than a third while the sale of plug-in hybrids increased by 60%. Germany finally took the lead in electric car sales but although Germany was the largest market for electrically chargeable cars in Europe at the start of 2018, the market share of electric cars in Norway is much bigger.

The European Electric Car Market in 2018 (Q1)

The market for electrically chargeable vehicles in the European Union (EU) and EFTA increased by 41% during the first quarter of 2018 to 88,329 cars. In the EU alone, the increase was an even stronger 47% to 69,898 cars.

During the first quarter of 2018, new passenger vehicle registrations in the EU and EFTA grew by 0.6% to 4,282,134 cars. This included:

Fuel Type 2018 (Q1) 2017 (Q1) % Change % Market Share
Total Market 4,282,134 4,256,637 0.6 100
Petrol 2,355,611 2,060,349 14.3 55
Diesel 1,603,337 1,934,374 -17.1 37.4
Alternatively Powered: 295,524 236,098 25.2 7
– ECV: 88,329 62,695 40.9 2
– – BEV 43,585 32,297 35 1
– – PHEV 44,744 30,398 47.2 1
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).
  • Excludes some smaller markets where suitable data is not available.

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

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

  2018 (Q1) 2017 (Q1) % Change
AUSTRIA 2,252 1,506 49.5
BELGIUM 3,981 3,141 26.7
BULGARIA 55 2 2650.0
CZECH REPUBLIC 215 112 92.0
DENMARK 1,045 85 1129.4
ESTONIA 18 17 5.9
FINLAND 1,484 605 145.3
FRANCE 10,908 9,347 16.7
GERMANY 17,574 10,328 70.2
GREECE 67 37 81.1
HUNGARY 481 184 161.4
IRELAND 573 435 31.7
ITALY 1,855 1,061 74.8
LATVIA 21 13 61.5
LITHUANIA 13 11 18.2
NETHERLANDS 4,505 2,005 124.7
POLAND 340 159 113.8
PORTUGAL 1,520 758 100.5
ROMANIA 195 11 1672.7
SLOVAKIA 55 33 66.7
SLOVENIA 170 74 129.7
SPAIN 2,199 1,008 118.2
SWEDEN 6,210 3,810 63.0
UNITED KINGDOM 14,162 12,809 10.6
EUROPEAN UNION 69,898 47,551 47.0
       
NORWAY 16,182 13,489 20.0
SWITZERLAND 2,249 1,655 35.9
EFTA 18,431 15,144 21.7
       
EU + EFTA 88,329 62,695 40.9
ECV = BEV + FCEV + PHEV + EREV
     
Source: ACEA      

Battery Electric Vehicle Sales in Europe in 2018 (Q1)

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

  2018 (Q1) 2017 (Q1) % Change
AUSTRIA 1,599 1,226 30.4
BELGIUM 914 788 16.0
BULGARIA 48 0 #DIV/0!
CZECH REPUBLIC 133 112 18.8
DENMARK 194 55 252.7
ESTONIA 12 13 -7.7
FINLAND 175 129 35.7
FRANCE 7,322 7,404 -1.1
GERMANY 9,127 5,064 80.2
GREECE 17 4 325.0
HUNGARY 311 119 161.3
IRELAND 282 298 -5.4
ITALY 934 529 76.6
LATVIA 11 5 120.0
LITHUANIA3 13 11 18.2
NETHERLANDS 3,945 1,667 136.7
POLAND 152 66 130.3
PORTUGAL 726 369 96.7
ROMANIA 195 11 1672.7
SLOVAKIA 55 33 66.7
SLOVENIA 103 58 77.6
SPAIN 1,153 588 96.1
SWEDEN 1,250 1,048 19.3
UNITED KINGDOM 3,895 4,654 -16.3
EUROPEAN UNION 32,566 24,251 34.3
       
NORWAY 9,694 6,993 38.6
SWITZERLAND 1,325 1,053 25.8
EFTA 11,019 8,046 37.0
       
EU + EFTA 43,585 32,297 35.0
Source: ACEA      

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

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

  2018 (Q1) 2017 (Q1) % Change
AUSTRIA 653 280 133.2
BELGIUM 3,067 2,353 30.3
BULGARIA 7 2 250.0
CZECH REPUBLIC2 82 – #DIV/0!
DENMARK 851 30 2736.7
ESTONIA 6 4 50.0
FINLAND 1,309 476 175.0
FRANCE 3,586 1,943 84.6
GERMANY 8,447 5,264 60.5
GREECE 50 33 51.5
HUNGARY 170 65 161.5
IRELAND 291 137 112.4
ITALY 921 532 73.1
LATVIA 10 8 25.0
LITHUANIA3 – –  
NETHERLANDS 560 338 65.7
POLAND 188 93 102.2
PORTUGAL 794 389 104.1
ROMANIA3 – –  
SLOVAKIA3 – –  
SLOVENIA 67 16 318.8
SPAIN 1,046 420 149.0
SWEDEN 4,960 2,762 79.6
UNITED KINGDOM 10,267 8,155 25.9
EUROPEAN UNION 37,332 23,300 60.2
       
NORWAY 6,488 6,496 -0.1
SWITZERLAND 924 602 53.5
EFTA 7,412 7,098 4.4
       
EU + EFTA 44,744 30,398 47.2
Source: ACEA      

Electric Car Sales in Europe During the First Quarter of 2018

The market for electrically chargeable vehicles in Europe grew by 41% during the first quarter of 2018. Although there was spectacular growth in some smaller markets, the bulk of volume was added in Germany and Norway. Germany moved ahead of both Britain and Norway with the UK market falling back from first in 2017 to third during the first quarter of 2018.

France and Sweden were again the fourth and fifth largest markets for electrically chargeable vehicles in Europe during the first three months of 2018. The Netherlands moved ahead of Belgium and Austria overtook Switzerland by only three cars. Spain moved into the top ten at the expense of Italy. Spectacular growth in Denmark is largely due to 2017 figures being extraordinary low following a change in tax regime.

Norway took the lead in terms of sales of battery electric vehicles with sales up by 39% followed by Germany where sales increased by 80%. However, where just more than a quarter of all car sales in Norway were electric vehicles, the market share in Germany was around 1%. The leader during the first quarter of 2017, France, slipped to third with volume sales down by 1%. Very strong sales in the Netherlands saw the Dutch market ahead of Britain where sales of electric battery vehicles were down by 16%.

At the start of 2018, Britain remained the leading European market for plug-in hybrid vehicles but in Germany sales were up by 60% to move ahead of Norway where sales of plug-in hybrids were flat.

Hybrid Electric Vehicles Sales in Europe in 2018 (Q1)

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

  2018 (Q1) 2017 (Q1) % Change
AUSTRIA 1,684 1,674 0.6
BELGIUM 4,493 4,246 5.8
BULGARIA 336 239 40.6
CZECH REPUBLIC 720 620 16.1
DENMARK 1,750 1,597 9.6
ESTONIA 330 290 13.8
FINLAND 2,992 2,198 36.1
FRANCE 21,805 19,349 12.7
GERMANY 19,834 11,972 65.7
GREECE 849 489 73.6
HUNGARY 1,122 711 57.8
IRELAND 3,893 2,363 64.7
ITALY 20,230 15,365 31.7
LATVIA 84 45 86.7
LITHUANIA2 168 135 24.4
NETHERLANDS 6,438 5,118 25.8
POLAND 5,277 4,732 11.5
PORTUGAL 1,664 1,013 64.3
ROMANIA 765 393 94.7
SLOVAKIA 549 327 67.9
SLOVENIA 405 197 105.6
SPAIN 16,640 12,689 31.1
SWEDEN 4,997 4,621 8.1
UNITED KINGDOM 22,531 20,596 9.4
EUROPEAN UNION 139,556 110,979 25.7
       
NORWAY 3,613 5,426 -33.4
SWITZERLAND 2,072 1,764 17.5
EFTA 5,685 7,190 -20.9
       
EU + EFTA 145,241 118,169 22.9
       
Source: ACEA      

During the first quarter of 2018, Britain remained the largest European new car market for passenger hybrid vehicles closely followed by France and Italy. Sales of hybrid cars in Germany increased by two thirds to move Germany ahead of Spain were hybrid car sales were up by a third. Norway was the only major market with weaker hybrid sales – down by a third.

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

Electric Car Sales per EU and EFTA Country: