Electric Vehicles Outsell Diesel in Europe for First Time

New car registrations by fuel type in August 2021, compared to August 2020 and 2019 (Courtesy JATO)

According to data from 26 European markets, electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrids outsold diesel vehicles by 10,100 units in August, representing 21% of all cars sold in the month. Even with an increase in sales of EV’s and hybrids, new car registrations overall reported a decline of 18% to 713,714 units, marking the lowest recorded volume in August since 2014.

The chip shortage has been a major setback for OEMs still grappling with the effects of the pandemic. Production issues and delays in the delivery of new cars have been damaging to sales. Despite these challenges, the performance of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid cars continues to grow.

Demand was reported to be particularly strong for the electric versions of the Fiat 500, Peugeot 208, Hyundai Kona, Opel Corsa and Kia Niro, in addition to the outstanding results of the Volkswagen ID.3—Europe’s top-selling EV during the month.

Among the latest launches, the much-anticipated Tesla Model Y entered the top 10 of the BEV rankings despite only hitting the market in August. Alongside this, the Ford Mustang Mach E also made the top ten.