Europe’s EV Sales Surge Is Leaving The U.S. In The Dust

• Electric car sales have surged in Europe in the first quarter.
• Over 700,000 EVs were registered from January through March, more than triple compared to the United States.
• EVs, along with PHEVs and hybrids, are now keeping Europe’s car industry afloat, while sales of pure gas and diesel cars continue to decline.

Electric cars might be going through a rough patch in the United States right now, but sales of EVs are booming in Europe. In the first quarter, no fewer than 723,704 new EVs were registered in the European Union, the United Kingdom, and the countries of the European Free Trade Association (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland)

That’s a healthy 26.2% increase year over year, according to data from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), the region’s biggest car industry lobby group. Registrations are used as a proxy for sales, as some car companies don’t report sales by region every quarter.

The Tesla Model Y rebounded in Q1, becoming Europe’s best-selling EV.

Photo by: Andrei Nedelea

It’s also a sign that Europe has left the U.S. in the dust when it comes to electrification. Americans bought 216,339 EVs from January through March, according to Cox Automotive. That’s 27% lower than last year, and more than three times lower than in Europe.

In fairness, the discontinuation of the $7,500 federal tax credit last year had a huge impact on the American EV industry, while European countries are still offering some kind of incentives. All this being said, EVs accounted for 20.6% of the entire new car market in Europe. Meanwhile, EVs accounted for 5.8% of total new-car sales in Q1 in the U.S.

Along with plug-in hybrids and traditional hybrids, electric cars are now keeping Europe’s car industry from going in the red, while sales of regular gas and diesel cars continue to decline. In the first quarter, Europeans bought 354,700 new PHEVs, up 32.4% year-over-year, and 1,355,117 hybrids, 11.4% more than during the same period last year.

At the same time, gas cars saw a 17% decline, while sales of diesel-powered passenger vehicles declined 16.4%. Overall, the new-vehicle market in Europe went up by 4.1%.

Tesla, once the biggest EV seller in Europe, rebounded from a rough performance in the previous quarters, recording a 44.9% increase in sales from January through March, with 78,336 new cars reaching customers in the EU, UK, and EFTA. When looking at the big picture, Tesla accounted for 10.8% of all the EV sales in the region. 

The Tesla Model Y was the best-selling car in Europe in March, according to Data Force numbers reported by Automotive News, and finished second for the quarter, with 51,468 sales.