Passenger plug-in electric car sales in Europe exceeded our expectations in December, overshadowing a few previous records with ease.
It's really amazing that about 281,171 new plug-in cars were registered last month, according to EV Sales Blog. That's not only 254% more than a year ago, but 115,000 more than the previous record. Even China can't beat it. The market share went through the roof, reaching 23% (including 14% for all-electric cars)!
Sales by type:
- BEVs: 168,912 (up 223% year-over-year) and 14% of the market
- PHEVs: 112,260 (up 347% year-over-year) and 9% of the market
Plug-In Electric Car Sales In Europe – December 2020
In 2020, a total of 1,367,138 passenger plug-in electric cars was registered in Europe (up 142% year-over-year). The average market share is 11% (6.2% BEVs and 4.8% PHEVs). In China, it was almost 1,272,000.
Who would think that we would see such high numbers? It was a really strange, challenging year. Hopefully, the future will be calmer.
The most popular models in December
In December, two models stand out - the Volkswagen ID.3 with 28,108 units (including 7,144 in Germany and 6,083 in the Netherlands), and the Tesla Model 3 with 24,664 units (including 5,700 in the UK and 4,232 in Norway).
Even the Renault ZOE was not able to come even close. ZOE noted 16,322 registrations (including 5,978 in France and 5,349 in Germany).
In fourth place, we see the Hyundai Kona Electric with 11,340 units, while in fifth was the plug-in hybrid Renault Captur PHEV with 6,135 units.
We would like to note also two more models that are just entering the market - Fiat 500 electric with 4,999 units and Volkswagen ID.4 with 4,714 units.
The most popular models in 2020
Now let's take a look at the overall results in 2020, in which the top nine plug-in models were all-electric.
The best selling model for the year was the Renault ZOE with 99,613 registrations. We assume that it was over 102,000, including the units registered as commercial vehicles. It's a big win for ZOE, which was the top-selling model also in 2016 and 2017.
The second best is the Tesla Model 3, although, with 87,642 units, Model 3 is down 8% year-over-year (from around 95,000) and was not able to repeat its first place from 2019.
The podium was completed by the Volkswagen ID.3 (56,937). It's not a surprise as the new German flagship was long-awaited by thousands of customers.
The locally produced Hyundai Kona Electric (48,537) secured fourth place, while in fifth was the Audi e-tron, which delivered a really high volume for its segment - 35,463. For comparison, Mercedes-Benz EQC stands at 14,610. Tesla Model X noted just 6,253 units.
In position #10, we can see the first plug-in hybrid - Mercedes-Benz A250e (29,436), followed by Volvo XC40 PHEV (28,254) and Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV (27,388)! It marks the end of an era of the Outlander PHEV in Europe, which was the best selling PHEV in 2012-2019.
Top 20 models for the month and YTD:
More sales reports
Source: EV-volumes.com via EV Sales Blog