In 2023, electric vehicle sales in the European Union surpassed those of diesel vehicles

The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, known by its acronym ACEA, has just published some truly interesting data on the evolution of the car market in the European Union during 2023. According to this body, during this period, a total of 10.5 million vehicles were registered across the bloc’s countries. This represents a 13.9 percent increase over the previous year.

ACEA also highlights that more vehicles were registered in all 27 member states, with the sole exception of Hungary, where a 3.4 percent drop was recorded. Among the countries with the largest increase in the number of registered vehicles, Italy leads with 18.9 percent more; Spain follows with 16.7 percent; and in third place, closing the podium, is France with 16.1 percent.

The data specifically referring to vehicles with electric propulsion systems are also very interesting. According to the report presented by ACEA, registrations of electric vehicles in the European Union increased significantly in 2023, rising from 1,123,444 vehicles registered in 2022 to 1,538,621 vehicles in 2023. This represents an increase of 37 percent.

Once again, electric vehicles are gaining ground in Europe

The market share of electric vehicles in total sales stood at 14.6 percent in 2023, behind petrol-engined vehicles with 35.3 percent and hybrids with 25.8 percent, but already ahead of diesel, which accounted for 13.6 percent. It should also be noted that the hybrid category includes both hybrids with a charging plug and those without one. Broken down into two new subcategories, the former accounted for 7.7 percent, while the latter reached 17.1 percent.

The strength of electric vehicles in Europe is also reflected in the fact that a model with this propulsion system was the one with the highest number of registrations in 2023. It is the Tesla Model Y with 254,822 units, just ahead of the Dacia Sandero with 235,893 and the Volkswagen T-Roc with 206,438.

Belgium was the European country that recorded the largest increase in electric vehicle registrations, with growth of 148 percent and 93,285 vehicles, followed by Denmark with 104 percent and 62,759 vehicles, together with Portugal with 102 percent and 36,390 vehicles. In absolute terms, the European country where the most electric vehicles were sold was Germany, with more than half a million units – 524,219 –, France ranked second with 298,219 vehicles, the Netherlands third with 113,981 and finally Sweden fourth with 112,208.

The number of electric vehicles registered in the United Kingdom and Norway is also significant, with 314,684 and 104,587 units, respectively. However, as these two countries do not belong to the European Union, they have not been included in the ranking.