Electrified sales overtake diesel in Europe

October 31, 2020October 31, 2020 John Carey 1862 Views electric cars, Electrified, Europe

Selling at a rate of more than 10,000 a day through September, electrified cars overtook diesels for the first time in Europe.

According to industry analyst JATO Dynamics, plain and plug-in hybrids, along with pure electric vehicles, accounted for 25 percent of new car registrations for the month.

“The shift from ICEs to EVs is finally taking place,” commented Felipe Munoz of JATO Dynamics. “Although this is largely down to government policies and incentives, consumers are also now ready to adopt these new technologies.”

The share for diesels, which once dominated in national markets like France, Italy and the UK, fell to just below 25 percent continent-wide. A decade ago diesel’s share was 50 percent.

Petrol cars made up almost half the market for September, but their sales are also slumping; 47 percent is a long way below their 59 percent share for the same month in 2019.

Despite the huge surge in electrified sales – up 139 percent for the year so far, according to JATO Dynamics – the coronavirus crisis has hit car sales hard in Europe.

Overall, the market is down 29 percent for the first nine months of 2020. In Australia, too, the effect has been significant. Sales are down 20 percent to the end of September.

But, when it comes to sales of electrified cars, the difference is massive. It’s difficult to say exactly what share EVs, PHEVs and hybrids combined have in Australia. Tesla does not participate in the gathering of data by industry statistician VFACTS. But even with a generous 300-plus sales per month guesstimate for the American brand included, electrified cars have a total share of the Australian car market of only 7 percent or so.

The mix is very different, too. Plain hybrids, including mild hybrids, make up almost 90 percent of electrified car sales in Australia. In Europe it’s much lower at 50 percent, with the remaining half split equally between PHEVs and EVs. Here PHEVs account for just 3 percent of electrified car sales, while EVs have around 9 percent.

Yes, Europe is way bigger than Australia. Its 27 nations are home to 30 times as many people as Australia’s 25 million. But if you calculate the buy-rate for electrified cars on a per-capita basis, Australians are still less than half as likely to buy one.

The end of the ICE age may coming, but in Europe it’s arriving like an avalanche, while in Australia the pace is glacial…

John Carey

Grew up in country NSW, way back when petrol was laced with lead. Has written about cars and the car business for more than 35 years, working full-time and freelance for leading mags, major newspapers and websites in Australia and (sometimes) overseas. Avidly interested in core EV technologies like motors and batteries, and believes the switch to electromobility definitely should be encouraged. Is waiting patiently for someone to make a good and affordable EV that will fit inside his tiny underground garage in northern Italy, where he's lived for the past decade. Likes the BMW i3, but it's just too damned wide...