Europe is experiencing a really challenging time right now and the latest passenger car sales data also highlight that. In March, car sales decreased by about 19% year-over-year to roughly 1.14 million.

In the case of the plug-in segment, the situation is different - much better, because the electrification is booming. Challenges with parts supply and overall uncertainty only slow the plug-in segment down, rather than bringing it into the red like internal combustion engine cars.

According to EV Volumes' data, shared by Jose Pontes, roughly 250,000 new passenger plug-in cars were registered in Europe last month, which is 10% more than a year ago. More importantly, it's the second-highest monthly result ever.

The plug-in market share, as expected, improved further, reaching 22%, after 20% in February.

An important finding is that the plug-in segment is driven only by all-electric cars, which noted a healthy growth rate of 47%, while plug-in hybrids declined noticeably (by 22% year-over-year).

New plug-in car registrations:

  • BEVs: about *159,000 (up 47% year-over-year) and 14% share
  • PHEVs: about *91,000 (down 22% year-over-year) and 8% share
  • Total: 250,601 (up 10% year-over-year) and 22% share

* estimated from the market share

Plug-In Electric Car Sales In Europe – March 2022

So far this year, some 565,297 new passenger plug-in electric cars were registered in Europe. That's about 21% of the total volume.

  • BEVs: about *0.32 million and 12% share
  • PHEVs: about *0.24 million and 9% share
  • Total: 565,297 (up 24% year-over-year) and 21% share

* estimated from the market share

Top plug-in models

High volume deliveries of Tesla cars (from China) in the final month of the quarter allowed it to achieve spectacular results.

The Tesla Model 3 noted 23,198 units in March and 32,901 year-to-date (up 6% year-over-year), taking first place in both cases.

The second best-selling model for the month and for the quarter is the Tesla Model Y with respectively 19,500 and 26,637 units. It's expected that if Tesla ramps up its German plant, the Model Y will overtake the Model 3.

The third best-selling model is the Fiat 500 electric with a monthly record of 6,554 registrations and 13,931 in Q1.

An impressive achievement is the fourth position for the Kia Niro EV, slightly ahead of the Volkswagen ID.4, which is finally recovering and shows better results.

Results last month:

  • Tesla Model 3 - 23,198
  • Tesla Model Y - 19,500
  • Fiat 500 electric - 6,554
  • Kia Niro EV (e-Niro) - 5,319
  • Volkswagen ID.4 - 5,070
  • Ford Kuga PHEV - 4,938
  • Renault ZOE - 4,273
  • Peugeot e-208 - 4,270
  • Hyundai Kona Electric - 4,204
  • Audi Q4 e-tron - 4,146

Results year-to-date:

  1. Tesla Model 3 - 32,901
  2. Tesla Model Y - 26,637
  3. Fiat 500 electric - 13,931
  4. Kia Niro EV (e-Niro) - 12,562
  5. Volkswagen ID.4 - 11,138
  6. Peugeot 3008 PHEV - 11,056
  7. Audi Q4 e-tron - 10,947
  8. Hyundai Kona Electric - 10,826
  9. Renault ZOE - 10,774
  10. Ford Kuga PHEV - 10,678

Top brands and automotive groups

The list of top plug-in brands, as usual, consists of many premium brands at the top. Tesla improved its position in the BEV/PHEV segment to #1 in March as a brand and #5 if we consider automotive groups.

Top brands last month:

  • Tesla- 10.5%
  • BMW - 9.1%
  • Mercedes-Benz - 8.9%
  • Volvo - 6.1%
  • Kia - 6.0%
  • Volkswagen - 5.9%
  • Audi - 5.9%
  • Peugeot - 5.7%

Top automotive groups last month:

The top automotive groups by plug-in electric car sales volume in Europe:

  1. Volkswagen Group - 17.5% share
  2. Stellantis - 14.7% share (Peugeot brand at 5.7%)
  3. Hyundai Motor Group - 11.3 % share (Kia brand at 6.0%, Hyundai at 5.3%)
  4. BMW Group - 11.1% share (BMW brand at 9.1%)
  5. Tesla - 10.5% share
  6. Mercedes Group - 10.2% share (Mercedes-Benz brand at 8.9%)
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