You know the story by now. Electric vehicle sales are currently surging across Europe and this will clearly impact your Fleet strategy. EV’s are good for your CSR goals, good for driver driver satisfaction and in time will help reduce global CO2 levels to help combat climate change.
PHEVs are losing ground to EVs
While electrified models continue to gain traction, growth has slowed when compared with previous months. In July, these vehicles totaled 157,614 units – down by 2% due to falling demand for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV).
According to JATO Dynamics data, PHEVs posted a 22% decline during July, in response to recent announcements that these vehicles will no longer qualify for incentives in several European markets. PHEVs appear to be losing regulatory favour and this is already impacting their position within the market as governments try to steer the industry towards pure electric vehicles. Hybrids do still have an important role to play if we are to see widespread uptake of low emissions vehicles across Europe, but BEVs are becoming more popular.
In Germany – the largest market for BEVs – electric vehicle sales increased by 13%, and by 69% in France, the second largest market. These cars accounted for 14% of total registrations in Germany, 12% in France, 11% in the UK, and 3% in both Spain and Italy.
The segment was led by Volkswagen Group, which accounted for almost 29% of total registrations with a volume increase of 17%. This is however notably lower than the gains posted by the segment’s second largest player, Stellantis (+41%), and Renault Group – up 66% in third position.
BEV as % of total registrations
| 2021 | 2022 | Variation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Austria | 9.90% | 15.0% | 5.1 |
| Belgium | 5.4% | 7.6% | +2.3 |
| Croatia | 1.4% | 3.2% | +1.9 |
| Czechia | 0.9% | 2.3% | +1.4 |
| Denmark | 9.7% | 19.4% | +9.6 |
| Estonia | 1.3% | 3.2% | +1.8 |
| France | 6.5% | 11.8% | +5.3 |
| Germany | 10.7% | 13.9% | +3.2 |
| Greece | 1.2% | 1.9% | +0.7 |
| Hungary | 2.2% | 4.7% | +1.9 |
| Ireland | 7.1% | 12.5% | +5.4 |
| Italy | 4.6% | 3.3% | -1.3 |
| Latvia | 7.0% | 5.3% | +4.3 |
| Lithuania | 2.8% | 7.6% | +4.8 |
| Luxembourg | 7.7% | 11.7% | +4.0 |
| Netherlands | 15.7% | 22.7% | +6.9 |
| Norway | 62.5% | 68.9% | +6.4 |
| Poland | 0.9% | 2.3% | +1.4 |
| Portugal | 6.8% | 8.6% | +1.8 |
| Romania | 2.0% | 8.9% | +6.9 |
| Slovakia | 0.9% | 7.6% | +0.7 |
| Slovenia | 2.3% | 3.5% | +1.2 |
| Spain | 1.8% | 2.8% | +1.0 |
| Sweden | 15.1% | 26.2% | +11.1 |
| Switzerland | 9.1% | 12.8% | +3.3 |
| UK | 9.0% | 10.9% | +7.9 |
| Europe-26 | 7.8% | 10.4% | +2.6 |
The rise of Chinese Brands
China’s OEMs (including MG, excluding Geely Group) posted a 72% increase, with 3,501 electric cars registered during the month. MG led with almost 3,000 units, up by 56%, followed by BYD with 238 units.
China’s manufacturers are slowly climbing the rankings, becoming a credible alternative for those looking for an affordable and appealing electric car. Almost half of the Chinese electric cars sold in July 2022 were registered in Sweden and Norway.
Chinese brands account for 15% of sales in the entire automobile market globally. For the EVs, they hold 45% of global sales. Vast R&D investments and futuristic plans of Chinese EV makers point to the growing role of China in the industry.
Chinese EVs should do well in Europe. They are coming in at price points that are very attractive, with products that are extremely competitive.
Bart Vanham
Familiarise yourself with these brands. You are going to be seeing more of them on the roads.
GWC Ora (From Great Wall China)
Zeekr 001 (from Geely)
Vehicle choice and powertrain strategy is key to a healthy fleet. As always, global events are looming over the industry, but successful policies are built on robust planning that we can help you with.
