The sales of electric, plug-in, and hybrid vehicles saw a substantial rise in Europe in 2022, despite the lackluster performance of the overall new car market. This has led to alternative fuel vehicles accounting for nearly half of all new car registrations in Europe.
According to the European Automobile Manufacturerās Association, the European Union saw 1.1 million new electric vehicles (EVs) purchased in the market in 2022, representing a 28% increase from the previous year. As a result, more than one in eight new cars registered in the EU was a fully electric vehicle.
In addition to EVs, hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles also recorded strong sales in 2022. Although plug-in hybrids were not as popular as EVs, Europeans still purchased 874,182 new plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) in 2022, which is 1.2% more than in 2021, and gave the segment a 9.4% share of the overall market.
See also: 368,000 new passenger plug-in cars were registered in the UK in 2022
Last year, hybrid vehicles continued to dominate the alternative fuel market in the European Union, with over 2 million units registered, accounting for one in every 4.5 vehicles sold in the EU. This surge in popularity resulted in a decline of market share for diesel and gasoline-powered vehicles.
In 2022, gasoline vehicles saw a decrease in market share from 35.5% to 32.5%, while diesel vehicles experienced a 20% drop in sales and only captured 16.4% of the market. In 2021, gas and diesel vehicles made up 60% of European sales, but in 2022, this figure fell to 53%. By the end of 2022, alternative fuel vehicles surpassed gas and diesel, accounting for 53% of new vehicle registrations. This shift in market preference indicates a growing demand for electrified vehicles.
