Register

Institutional Sign In

Go
Home » Blog » Sales of New Electric Cars in Europe rose 14.0% in 4Q2021

Sales of New Electric Cars in Europe rose 14.0% in 4Q2021

Jiří Staník
February 10, 2022

Sales of electrically-chargeable vehicles amounted to 666 thousand in 4Q2021, 81.8 thousand more than the last year.

Electric cars represented 28.3% of all new cars sold in 4Q2021, up from 19.2% a year ago.

Most electric vehicles have been sold in Germany (204 thousand), while Lithuania registered the biggest increase in sales when compared to last year.

Electric Chargeable Cars

Sales of new electrically-chargeable passenger cars (battery electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles) reached 666 thousand in the fourth quarter of 2021 in the enlarged Europe (EU plus Iceland, Norway and Switzerland), according to ACEA. This is 14.0% more, or 584 thousand more than in the previous year.

Share of electric chargeable vehicles increased to 28.3% of all new passenger cars sold in 4Q2021, up from 19.2% seen in the fourth quarter of 2020. Most electric vehicles (204 thousand) were sold in Germany (up 6.98% yoy), followed by France (94.4 thousand, up 26.1%), the United Kingdom with 93.1 thousand thousand cars (up 40.6%), 42.8 thousand new vehicles were registered in Norway (up 12.1%) and 41.8 thousand in Netherlands (down 16.2%). The five largest countries accounted for 71.5% of total new vehicles registered in the fourth quarter of 2021:

As partly seen above, the sale of battery-electric (BEV) increased by 26.5% when compared to last year, while registration of plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEV) fell by 0.779%.

In relative terms, Norway liked the electric chargeable vehicles the most in the fourth quarter of 2021 with 90.2% of all new passenger cars sold followed by Iceland (76.8%) and Sweden (55.9%).

On the other end of the scale was Czech Republic with only 3.78%, Bulgaria with 2.53% and Cyprus with just 1.38% of electric cars sold, as % of total:

Hybrid Electric and Other Alternatively-Powered Cars

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 1,191 thousand vehicles in the fourth quarter of 2021. This is 7.21% more, or 80.1 thousand more than in the previous year.

Together with electric chargeable vehicles, the share of total alternatively-powered vehicles increased to 50.7% of all new passenger cars sold in 4Q2021, up from 36.5% seen in the fourth quarter of 2020:

In relative terms, Norway liked the alternatively-powered vehicles the most in the fourth quarter of 2021 with 93.9% of all new passenger cars sold followed by Iceland (87.0%) and Netherlands (67.4%). On the other hand, alternatively-fuelled cars represented only 20.6% of all cars sold in Slovenia, 19.4% in the Czech Republic and 5.44% in Bulgaria, according to ACEA.

Petrol and Diesel-Powered Cars

Sales of traditionally-powered vehicles using petrol and diesel reached 1,159 thousand in the fourth quarter of 2021 in the enlarged Europe, according to ACEA. This is 40.1%, or 775 thousand fewer than in the previous year.

Some 813 thousand petrol-powered vehicles were sold, down 32.9% when compared to a year ago. The share decreased to 34.6% of all new passenger cars sold in 4Q2021, down from 39.8% seen in the fourth quarter of 2020. Share of diesel-powered cars fell to 14.7% (from 23.7% in 4Q2020) with 346 thousand cars sold in the fourth quarter of 2021.

As a result, share of traditionally-powered cars amounted to 49.3% of all new passenger cars sold in 4Q2021, down from 63.5% seen in the fourth quarter of 2020.

In relative terms, Bulgaria liked the petrol-fuelled vehicles the most in the fourth quarter of 2021 with 81.5% of all new passenger cars sold followed by Slovenia (59.7%) and the Czech Republic (57.3%). On the other hand, diesel-powered cars were preferred most in Ireland (25.7% of all cars sold), followed by Austria (with 23.8%) and the Czech Republic (23.3%).

Relative and Absolute Sales of Cars by Power

The following charts show where the most cars are sold absolutely and relatively in Europe and elsewhere in the world:

1. Electric Passenger Cars

2. Alternative Fuelled Passenger Cars (LPG, CNG)

3. Diesel Fuelled Passenger Cars

4. Petrol Fuelled Passenger Cars

Sales of Electric Chargeable Passenger Cars in Europe (thousands of vehicles)

Country 1Q2020 2Q2020 3Q2020 4Q2020 1Q2021 2Q2021 3Q2021 4Q2021
Austria 3.62 3.76 5.99 10.2 10.3 12.9 12.2 12.5
Belgium 7.69 6.36 12.4 19.9 16.8 18.4 17.4 17.9
Bulgaria ... ... ... ... 0.190 0.242 0.116 0.150
Croatia ... ... ... 0.330 0.201 0.352 0.460 0.861
Cyprus 0.004 0.007 0.011 0.020 0.046 0.048 0.020 0.028
Czechia 1.32 0.681 0.908 2.33 1.54 1.94 1.47 1.70
Denmark 4.16 4.11 10.2 14.1 10.5 15.3 17.2 22.4
Estonia 0.065 0.070 0.118 0.172 0.127 0.226 0.150 0.148
Finland 4.56 2.73 4.93 5.20 7.24 8.87 6.29 7.89
France 35.4 29.8 45.7 74.8 61.7 82.6 64.5 94.4
Germany 52.4 41.5 111 190 143 170 166 204
Greece 0.159 0.208 0.515 1.25 1.30 1.91 1.60 2.16
Hungary 1.00 0.903 1.60 2.53 1.48 1.79 2.26 3.02
Iceland 1.17 0.651 1.16 1.23 1.08 1.60 2.01 2.30
Ireland 2.69 0.373 2.90 0.553 5.55 2.95 6.78 1.27
Italy 8.35 7.39 14.2 29.9 29.4 38.6 32.1 37.2
Latvia 0.066 0.074 0.147 0.104 0.094 0.170 0.124 0.174
Lithuania 0.087 0.074 0.167 0.125 0.065 0.245 0.273 0.572
Luxembourg 0.790 0.712 1.49 2.17 2.27 2.21 2.10 2.52
Netherlands 12.0 8.14 19.1 49.9 10.8 19.9 21.2 41.8
Norway 22.6 18.0 27.0 38.2 29.8 39.6 39.8 42.8
Poland 1.28 1.22 2.06 3.54 2.93 4.04 3.92 5.61
Portugal 4.78 2.64 4.73 7.55 4.98 7.57 6.86 9.51
Romania 0.271 0.328 0.807 1.44 0.415 0.459 1.95 5.34
Slovakia 0.324 0.310 0.474 0.376 0.397 0.595 0.553 0.726
Slovenia 0.387 0.323 0.402 0.664 0.364 0.406 0.495 0.640
Spain 7.25 3.49 10.4 20.1 10.6 17.8 16.5 22.1
Sweden 18.5 14.1 24.0 37.5 32.4 36.8 27.9 38.3
Switzerland 5.42 4.70 9.11 14.7 9.07 13.6 17.2 13.8
UK 31.9 18.5 58.4 66.2 58.4 73.7 80.1 93.1
EU 223 167 363 584 445 564 537 666
Source: ACEA, Helgi Library

Sales of Hybrid Passenger Cars in Europe (thousands of vehicles)

Country 1Q2020 2Q2020 3Q2020 4Q2020 1Q2021 2Q2021 3Q2021 4Q2021
Austria 4.41 5.11 7.21 9.29 10.2 12.4 10.3 9.14
Belgium 5.60 2.87 3.85 2.88 5.40 5.29 4.98 4.01
Bulgaria 0.501 0.212 0.120 0.114 0.510 0.418 0.167 0.150
Croatia 0.486 0.422 0.551 0.721 1.37 2.02 1.67 1.38
Cyprus 0.400 0.336 0.295 0.364 0.428 0.736 0.817 0.562
Czechia 2.38 2.27 3.02 4.95 5.41 7.64 4.88 6.18
Denmark 2.32 1.67 2.60 3.05 2.15 2.71 2.10 1.88
Estonia 0.738 0.484 0.684 0.759 1.45 2.01 1.70 1.23
Finland 5.09 3.13 5.19 5.32 8.17 8.10 6.69 5.15
France 30.1 30.4 49.3 59.1 70.8 82.4 63.9 72.8
Germany 63.1 46.5 96.4 121 101 120 113 95.1
Greece 2.59 2.12 3.25 3.79 5.06 7.32 5.90 5.11
Hungary 5.68 5.18 9.14 11.8 12.9 12.6 11.6 11.0
Iceland 0.298 0.249 0.404 0.223 0.331 0.926 0.712 0.302
Ireland 6.34 0.276 4.07 0.308 9.22 2.70 6.60 0.739
Italy 34.8 27.6 62.9 96.7 121 123 85.5 93.8
Latvia 0.496 0.340 0.542 0.518 0.777 1.10 1.07 0.678
Lithuania 1.08 0.825 4.20 2.18 3.39 4.74 2.70 1.59
Luxembourg 0.853 0.698 1.10 1.15 1.77 2.16 1.84 1.46
Netherlands 11.5 6.87 13.6 15.5 19.2 19.0 17.5 16.1
Norway 3.25 2.56 2.89 3.55 2.57 3.42 2.06 1.73
Poland 13.7 9.47 17.2 25.9 29.7 33.1 30.9 28.4
Portugal 2.83 1.50 2.94 4.64 4.13 6.39 4.15 4.42
Romania 2.25 2.27 4.08 5.67 5.52 6.96 10.4 7.88
Slovakia 1.33 1.26 2.00 2.64 2.61 4.64 4.23 3.68
Slovenia 0.571 0.317 0.415 0.416 0.651 0.935 1.42 1.46
Spain 29.4 16.7 40.3 51.0 41.0 66.8 50.6 61.0
Sweden 4.43 3.72 7.05 7.15 6.14 7.01 4.72 4.32
Switzerland 7.09 4.71 7.88 12.5 11.6 14.1 13.1 13.4
UK 68.1 23.2 114 84.4 109 133 123 78.8
EU 282 180 425 482 529 615 517 469
Source: ACEA, Helgi Library

Sales of Alternatively-Powered Passenger Cars Other Than Electric in Europe (thousands of vehicles)

Country 1Q2020 2Q2020 3Q2020 4Q2020 1Q2021 2Q2021 3Q2021 4Q2021
Austria 0.005 0.003 0.001 0.012 0.025 0.036 0.018 0.007
Belgium 0.049 0.342 0.410 0.193 0.843 0.894 0.721 0.629
Bulgaria 0.086 0.034 0 0.001 0.053 0.027 0 0.023
Croatia 0.064 0.101 0.225 0.324 0.327 0.581 0.579 0.510
Cyprus 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.001 0
Czechia 0.105 0.168 1.53 0.592 0.507 0.913 2.19 0.856
Denmark 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Estonia 0 0 0 0 0.188 0.095 0.121 0.062
Finland 0 0 0 0 0.307 0.275 0.193 0.146
France 0.506 3.49 6.71 5.89 9.42 12.8 13.6 13.2
Germany 0.180 0.732 2.38 3.27 2.51 3.71 3.27 4.56
Greece 0 0.014 0.132 0.295 0.533 0.884 0.986 0.991
Hungary 0 0.018 0.175 0.140 0.206 0.056 0.211 0.239
Iceland 0 0 0 0.001 0.001 0.001 0.001 0.004
Ireland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.179 0.017
Italy 20.9 16.2 26.7 29.7 36.4 40.8 31.3 29.7
Latvia 0.012 0.042 0.024 0.058 0.042 0.075 0.085 0.077
Lithuania 0 0 0.022 0.051 0 0.076 0.101 0.090
Luxembourg 0 0 0 0 0 0.001 0.002 0
Netherlands 0.090 0.341 0.758 0.732 0.399 0.576 0.565 0.718
Norway 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Poland 0.643 1.19 2.69 4.82 3.11 3.18 3.32 4.05
Portugal 0.094 0.348 0.466 0.907 0.435 0.734 0.965 1.42
Romania 0.093 1.07 2.87 5.25 1.67 2.91 6.85 4.52
Slovakia 0.042 0.120 0.187 0.193 0.217 0.303 0.357 0.311
Slovenia 0.004 0.046 0.058 0.076 0.123 0.160 0.144 0.145
Spain 0.988 1.08 3.57 4.24 2.56 3.11 4.28 4.10
Sweden 0.001 0.003 0.007 0 0.416 0.693 0.835 0.725
Switzerland 0.001 0.001 0.001 0 0.066 0.085 0.041 0.097
UK 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
EU 22.8 22.6 41.1 45.2 54.0 64.6 57.0 56.3
Source: ACEA, Helgi Library

Sales of Diesel-fuelled Passenger Cars in Europe (thousands of vehicles)

Country 1Q2020 2Q2020 3Q2020 4Q2020 1Q2021 2Q2021 3Q2021 4Q2021
Austria 21.3 21.6 18.3 22.5 16.3 17.8 12.3 11.9
Belgium 40.6 29.0 39.4 33.2 32.1 27.4 16.9 14.5
Bulgaria 2.34 1.50 0.910 0.677 1.93 2.69 0.889 0.774
Croatia 3.46 2.63 4.03 2.77 3.09 3.99 2.83 1.67
Cyprus 0.901 0.610 0.807 0.624 0.606 0.368 0.332 0.279
Czechia 14.6 12.0 16.1 16.3 14.1 14.9 9.56 10.5
Denmark 13.0 8.73 10.4 12.6 7.04 7.39 4.76 4.72
Estonia 1.28 0.812 1.32 1.23 1.42 1.35 0.737 0.580
Finland 3.95 2.95 3.21 2.68 2.61 2.62 1.88 1.28
France 121 102 139 142 108 105 64.0 73.0
Germany 224 159 227 210 158 156 112 97.8
Greece 5.79 4.31 5.78 6.37 5.05 5.85 3.69 2.97
Hungary 6.95 4.83 7.67 8.17 6.01 5.56 4.25 3.20
Iceland 0.452 0.364 0.687 0.300 0.332 0.600 0.342 0.275
Ireland 21.9 1.49 13.0 1.86 17.6 5.43 11.0 1.08
Italy 119 84.5 132 117 112 99.0 58.3 53.5
Latvia 1.46 0.879 1.21 1.07 1.00 0.863 0.758 0.586
Lithuania 1.49 0.946 1.77 2.75 0.950 1.40 0.909 0.724
Luxembourg 4.60 3.34 4.80 3.89 3.77 3.26 2.09 2.08
Netherlands 5.46 2.64 3.18 1.69 2.17 2.43 1.47 0.898
Norway 3.49 3.21 3.10 2.37 2.09 2.20 1.36 1.44
Poland 19.7 13.2 21.9 24.4 17.1 17.1 11.7 11.4
Portugal 15.7 6.33 13.6 12.2 8.16 10.9 6.05 6.91
Romania 8.30 6.19 8.39 11.0 3.74 5.35 6.19 3.93
Slovakia 4.99 3.55 5.49 5.06 4.04 4.38 3.53 2.96
Slovenia 4.81 4.50 4.96 3.54 4.82 3.84 2.53 2.14
Spain 59.7 36.2 70.0 70.0 42.8 53.0 34.9 40.5
Sweden 16.6 15.9 15.9 16.0 19.5 12.9 7.73 8.19
Switzerland 16.0 7.99 13.7 14.2 9.36 10.0 6.49 6.55
UK 91.4 27.5 90.1 52.7 48.6 44.5 24.5 18.2
EU 783 517 803 722 595 567 370 346
Source: ACEA, Helgi Library

Sales of Petrol-fuelled Passenger Cars in Europe (thousands of vehicles)

Country 1Q2020 2Q2020 3Q2020 4Q2020 1Q2021 2Q2021 3Q2021 4Q2021
Austria 25.2 27.5 29.0 26.0 26.6 27.7 20.8 16.4
Belgium 72.5 50.1 60.1 41.0 64.1 61.2 41.2 32.5
Bulgaria 2.86 2.35 5.82 4.44 2.97 3.97 5.50 4.84
Croatia 5.84 4.27 5.91 3.79 5.50 8.86 5.93 3.75
Cyprus 1.62 1.04 1.61 1.43 1.64 1.82 1.62 1.17
Czechia 31.3 29.0 31.5 30.2 28.0 37.8 30.9 25.8
Denmark 29.3 25.0 30.6 26.3 24.2 27.2 19.4 16.4
Estonia 3.27 1.97 2.87 2.21 2.54 3.53 2.89 1.78
Finland 13.9 9.85 12.2 9.60 9.65 8.88 6.87 5.35
France 178 185 210 201 192 198 132 145
Germany 359 260 393 350 252 285 232 203
Greece 12.5 8.27 13.4 8.93 11.5 19.0 11.2 7.93
Hungary 19.0 12.1 15.8 15.3 11.6 12.5 11.4 9.95
Iceland 0.544 0.442 0.807 0.348 0.347 0.824 0.677 0.112
Ireland 18.9 0.953 11.7 1.09 15.7 4.75 12.2 1.09
Italy 156 96.0 137 133 149 137 73.3 78.1
Latvia 1.83 1.39 1.92 1.36 1.53 2.06 1.90 1.24
Lithuania 8.07 4.24 5.28 6.87 3.19 4.55 3.66 2.12
Luxembourg 5.67 4.13 5.86 3.94 4.66 5.21 3.69 3.30
Netherlands 74.0 36.9 53.9 40.3 46.8 40.7 32.5 27.5
Norway 3.05 3.10 3.17 1.96 1.85 2.41 1.75 1.47
Poland 72.3 47.1 71.4 74.5 65.1 67.8 55.3 49.9
Portugal 21.9 8.75 19.1 14.5 13.3 24.8 13.1 11.9
Romania 17.1 11.8 18.8 18.4 7.73 11.3 16.1 12.2
Slovakia 12.2 9.71 13.4 12.0 8.14 13.1 11.6 9.31
Slovenia 8.83 8.31 9.39 5.77 9.68 8.72 7.50 6.51
Spain 120 63.2 130 110 89.1 130 84.8 83.9
Sweden 25.6 25.3 29.0 27.8 32.4 24.9 18.1 17.1
Switzerland 35.1 21.8 29.6 31.8 26.4 30.2 22.3 21.0
UK 292 101 327 184 209 233 179 141
EU 1,444 927 1,496 1,212 1,169 1,262 905 813
Source: ACEA, Helgi Library

Related Reports

Related Articles

Sales of New Cars in Europe grew 14.1% in October 2023 Trinity Bank - Takeaways from 3Q2023 Results Fio banka - Takeaways from 3Q2023 Results Max banka - Takeaways from 3Q2023 Results Banka Creditas - Takeaways from 3Q2023 Results
Jiří Staník
Jiří Staník
CEO & Founder
He spent nearly two decades analysing companies in the region of Central and Eastern Europe, primarily in the area of financial services. Jiri built and headed Equity Research at Wood & Company, a Central European brokerage firm, and got several awards (such as The Best Equity Research or The Best Analyst by Euromoney).
Helgi Library
Eliášova 38, Prague 6, 160 00, Czech Republic
Copyright © 2024 Helgi Library. All rights reserved.