Germany loses the crown: UK overtakes it in electric car sales

Until recently, the leader in electric car sales was Germany. In the country that produces the most cars in Europe, more electric cars were also sold than in any other European country, including Norway, by sales volume. But that has suddenly changed, because 2024 has shifted this leadership to another country. The UK has emerged as the country where the most electric cars were sold throughout 2024, although it was only by a narrow margin.

In the UK, a total of 381,970 units were registered, compared with 380,600 electric vehicles registered in Germany. With this, there is a difference of 1,361 units, which is enough for the UK to be crowned the leader in sales of this type of vehicle.

Reasons for the change

There are many factors that may explain this change in leadership in electric car sales. One of the most important is the end of subsidies for buying electric cars in Germany. This situation has caused electric car sales to fall by 27%. In contrast, the UK has seen electric car sales increase by 21% compared with 2023.

At the close of 2023, the market share of electric cars in the UK stood at 19.6%, according to data published by British manufacturers. In this case, the growth in registrations is due to an aggressive policy by the British government.

This requires manufacturers to achieve a minimum percentage of electric cars in the sales of each brand. In 2024 this percentage was 22%, with a planned fine of 15,000 pounds for each car that fails to meet that percentage. For this reason, brands have set out to adjust prices and improve their offers so that buyers lean towards electric cars over combustion-engine cars.

In 2025, the minimum percentage to be reached is 28% of total vehicle sales, a figure that seems too high for actual sales.

Rest of Europe

In France, another of the major automotive markets, electric car sales fell by 2.6%, although in the first half of the year 50,000 electric cars were sold thanks to government aid. In total, 290,000 electric cars were registered in 2023, with a considerable drop once the aid ran out.

Spain has not managed to recover, although the figures indicate a slight upturn in electric car sales. 57,374 units were registered, representing a market share of 5.6% and an increase of 11.17%. Italy has also seen electric car sales fall due to the lack of government subsidies. Combustion-engine cars continue to dominate the market.

And Norway, the country with the highest percentage of electric cars in sales rankings, has the greatest deployment of these vehicles, but in total numbers it is not enough to lead the European market.