EUROPE is supposed to fully switch to electric vehicles (EVs) in little over a decade but sales growth of the climate-friendly vehicles stalled in the first half of the year, data showed on Thursday (Jul 18).
Instead, data from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (Acea) showed that the modest 4.4 per cent overall growth in the sales of new cars in Europe came primarily from hybrid vehicles.
Sales of hybrids, not including plug-in hybrids, rose by 21 per cent to just over two million, or nearly 30 per cent of the market.
Sales of battery EVs ticked 1.6 per cent higher, to 954,094 units, or 13.9 per cent of the market.
Petrol vehicles remained the biggest segment with a market share of 35.2 per cent, but sales dipped 1.5 per cent. Sales of diesel vehicles fell by 7.9 per cent.
Sales of vehicles using fuel cells, natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, super-ethanol and other fuels bounded 6.9 per cent higher.
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European carmakers have committed to shifting production to battery EVs but have recently appeared disappointed by the lack of sales growth despite introducing more models.
The stall in consumer uptake comes as government incentives to purchase EVs have dropped in some countries and while there are still few models affordable to those on modest incomes.
The Acea said that while overall sales in the European car market expanded modestly in the first half of the year to nearly 6.9 million vehicles, they remain considerably lower than pre-pandemic levels.
Some 8.7 million vehicles were sold in Europe in the first half of 2018. AFP
