EAFO reports BEV sales have overtaken PHEV sales in Europe

10 April 2017

In the April edition of its newsletter, the European Alternative Fuels Observatory (EAFO) has reported that electric vehicle (EV) sales in Europe, comprising battery electric vehicles (BEV) and plug-in hybrids (PHEV), exceeded 15,000 units in February. EV sales increased 11% year on year, outperforming the new car market, which only expanded by 2% and the EV share increased to 1.4% as a result. Moreover, BEV sales surpassed PHEV sales in February for the first time since 2014, with 8201 and 7380 units sold respectively.  

BEV registrations rose 27% compared to February 2016, while demand for PHEVs declined 3%. EAFO reports that this is partly because several countries have reduced their generous PHEV incentives as authorities have realised that the kilometres driven purely on electric power in PHEVs have been rather modest.  

Bolstered by the ZE40 extended range version, the Renault Zoe was the bestselling EV in Europe in February, with 2763 units registered, equating to phenomenal growth of 57% year on year. Despite respective sales declines of 17% and 29%, the Nissan Leaf and Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV remain in second and third place. The BMW i3 and Volkswagen Passat GTE followed closely behind.  

The arrival of new versions of models such as the Renault Zoe and BMW i3 with extended range have undoubtedly helped boost demand for EVs but some models are constrained by supply. Furthermore, the EAFO reports that ′consumers are waiting for newer models which already have been announced, thus depressing the actual EV market.’ Autovista has recently covered a roundup of key EV models that are in the pipeline, which should underpin continued growth of EV demand.