Oh no, you're thinking, yet another cookie pop-up. Well, sorry, it's the law. We measure how many people read us, and ensure you see relevant ads, by storing cookies on your device. If you're cool with that, hit “Accept all Cookies”. For more info and to customize your settings, hit “Customize Settings”.

Review and manage your consent

Here's an overview of our use of cookies, similar technologies and how to manage them. You can also change your choices at any time, by hitting the “Your Consent Options” link on the site's footer.

Manage Cookie Preferences
  • These cookies are strictly necessary so that you can navigate the site as normal and use all features. Without these cookies we cannot provide you with the service that you expect.

  • These cookies are used to make advertising messages more relevant to you. They perform functions like preventing the same ad from continuously reappearing, ensuring that ads are properly displayed for advertisers, and in some cases selecting advertisements that are based on your interests.

  • These cookies collect information in aggregate form to help us understand how our websites are being used. They allow us to count visits and traffic sources so that we can measure and improve the performance of our sites. If people say no to these cookies, we do not know how many people have visited and we cannot monitor performance.

See also our Cookie policy and Privacy policy.

This article is more than 1 year old

European electric vehicle sales surged in Q4 2019 but only accounted for wafer-thin slice of total car purchases

'Up 50%' looks good, less so when it's 520,000 out of 15.3 million

Electric and fuel-cell vehicle sales in Europe jumped by over 50 per cent in the last quarter of 2019, but still make up only 4.4 per cent of total sales.

The new energy vehicle (NEV) numbers from Canalys include plug-in hybrids, fully electric vehicles and fuel-cell machines.

For the whole of 2019, some 520,000 NEV cars were sold out of a total of 15.3 million new cars sold across the continent.

europesalesnewenergycars

Click to enlarge

Chris Jones, chief automotive analyst at Canalys, said the industry needed a boost but new, cheaper, compact electric vehicles due in the next few months would help to kick-start the market.

Jones said: "More affordable, compact EVs launching in the first half of 2020 from mainstream brands such as Honda, Mini, Opel/Vauxhall, Peugeot and VW. Priced between €30,000 and €40,000 (US$34,000 and US$45,000), with improved ranges of between 200 and 500 miles (320 to 800 kilometres), early customer interest is encouraging."

Canalys said demand for new vehicles across Europe was muted. Although sales for the fourth quarter and the year as a whole were up, the picture was muddied because of the negative impact of regulation changes last year. Emissions and fuel-efficiency changes in the Worldwide Harmonised Light-duty Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP) caused dramatic drops in car and van sales.

Researchers also warned that the impact of coronavirus would inhibit sales well into 2020. They are also seeing an impact from component shortages hitting not just new energy vehicles, but all car manufacturing around the globe.

Such shortages, coupled with weak demand, may encourage manufacturers to focus on and prioritise component supplies for higher-margin vehicles – which are not typically NEVs. ®

Similar topics

Similar topics

Similar topics

TIP US OFF

Send us news


Other stories you might like