EVs and hybrids account for 43% of third-quarter EU new car sales

ELECTRIC and hybrid vehicles accounted for 43 per cent of sales of new cars in the European Union (EU) in the third quarter, data from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (Acea) showed on Thursday (Nov 3).

Fully electric vehicles (EVs), plug-in hybrids and hybrids made up less than 40 per cent of all sales in the same period last year, the association said.

More than one in 10 cars sold, or 11.9 per cent, was a fully electric, zero-emission model as sales of such models rose 22 per cent versus the third quarter of 2021.

The EU has backed an effective ban on new fossil-fuel vehicles from 2035, so eventually all cars will have to be zero-emission models.

National and local governments have been pulling back on subsidies for plug-in hybrids in favour of fully-electric cars. Plug-in hybrid sales fell 6 per cent during the third quarter.

Petrol car sales were down 3.3 per cent but petrol cars remained the most popular in the EU with 37.8 per cent of total sales.

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Diesel cars accounted for 16.5 per cent of sales after a 4.7 per cent drop year on year.

As recently as 2015, diesel vehicles accounted for nearly 52 per cent of EU car sales. But sales have fallen continuously in the wake of Volkswagen’s “Dieselgate” emissions-cheating scandal. REUTERS