EVs make huge gains helped by incentives, tougher CO2 rules

Electric and electrified cars were the big 2020 winners, gaining despite a 3.78-million-unit decline in overall European sales compared with 2019 because of factory and dealership shutdowns caused by the pandemic.

The introduction of new emissions regulations that punished automakers that failed to reach an agreed CO2 target promoted sales of plug-in vehicles.

This combined with generous, green-angled incentives in countries such as Germany and France aimed at kick-starting sales after the first lockdown helped increase the volume for full-electric cars by 106 percent to 733,109 units, according to data from market researcher JATO Dynamics (click below, left, to download the 3-page PDF with results for all the segments).

Because of the big gain the electric cars became Europe's sixth-largest segment, up from No. 11 in 2019. 

EV demand was so strong that Europe's top-selling battery-driven car, the Renault Zoe, nearly pushed past the 100,000 sales milestone for the year, earning it its first appearance in the small car segment's top 10.

Tesla's continued supply problems meant the Model 3 was unable to retain its place as Europe's No. 1 EV last year, instead finishing 2020 as the region's second most popular EV ahead of the recently launched Volkswagen ID3.

Models offering plug-in hybrid or full-hybrid versions also had success in a year that proved exceptionally challenging for vehicles with an internal combustion engine only.

The additional of plug-in hybrid version of the XC40, for example, pushed it to the top of the premium compact SUV segment for the first time, overtaking the BMW X1 and Audi Q3 in the process.

In the small car segment, the Toyota Yaris rose to No. 4 from eight place because of strong demand for the full-hybrid version of the fourth generation of the car. The Yaris finished ahead of rivals such as the VW Polo and Ford Fiesta despite the car's market launch being delayed by factory lockdowns in the second quarter.

The Yaris' popularity was further underscored when it overtook the VW Golf to become Europe's best-selling model overall in January this year.

The pandemic pushed overall sales down 24 percent, according to JATO data, but some sectors weathered the disruption far better than others.

Aside from electric cars, the three least affected segments were all for high-end crossovers, led by the premium large SUV category, which was down just 9.5 percent and topped by the BMW X5, just ahead of the Mercedes-Benz GLE.

Strong sales of the plug-in hybrid version of the Mercedes GLC pushed that model to the top of the premium midsize SUV segment ahead of the Volvo XC60 and BMW X3, while the full-electric Audi e-Tron moved into fifth place, helping to reduce the segment's decline to 13 percent.

Premium compact SUVs meanwhile lost just 10 percent of sales, helped by an increase in demand of 25 percent for the top-selling XC40, one of very few models to gain sales in 2020.

Europe's biggest segment remained small cars, which at a decrease of 25 percent nearly matched the overall market's decline. The Renault Clio retained the top spot, while the Peugeot 208 and new Opel/Vauxhall Corsa took second and third, respectively.

The small SUV segment underscored its importance in Europe's car market by moving into second place overall with sales of 1.726 million units, putting it just ahead of compacts at 1.723 million. The small SUV segment also declined less sharply (-18 percent) last year than the compact segment (-22 percent).

The Renault Captur stayed in first place ahead of the VW T-Roc and Peugeot 2008, but the main boost for the segment came from the arrival of the Ford Puma, which finished 2020 at No. 6.

The segment also got a lift from the Hyundai Kona, which increased sales 19 percent with help from the hybrid versions of the crossover. The Kona was the No. 8-selling small SUV in Europe last year.

The compact segment (-22 percent) did slightly better than the overall market's 24 percent decline. The success of electrified models such as the No. 4-ranked Toyota Corolla (+2.9 percent) and No. 7-ranked Kia Niro (+35 percent), however, was not enough to make up for a steep drop in sales for Europe's best-selling car, the Golf.

A switch to the eighth generation of the Golf, which was delayed by software problems, contributed to a 31 percent sales decline.

Other vehicles that lost sales in the segment included the No. 6-ranked Peugeot 308, which dipped 37 percent, and the No. 9-ranked Opel/Vauxhall Astra (-48 percent). Both cars were at or near the end of their model cycles in 2020.

With a 29 percent dip, the compact SUV segment was hit harder than the overall market as sales of the Nissan Qashqai, the category's best-seller in 2019, fell 38 percent. This put the Qashqai beneath the VW Tiguan in the ranking.

A new Qashqai has just been unveiled with sales set to start this spring.

Another compact SUV that had a difficult 2020 was the new Ford Kuga. Sales fell 51 percent as Ford was forced to pause production after the battery cells in the key plug-in hybrid variant of the Kuga were found to be faulty.

While the compact SUV segment, for years a growth engine for European auto sales, was a surprise loser 2020, other categories were worse hit.

Sales of volume coupe and convertibles were down 58 percent, the biggest decline of the 24 segments that Automotive News Europe tracks with help from JATO.

Europe's three minivan segments also shrunk more dramatically the overall market. The drop was led by the compact minivan segment, down 47 percent as buyers shifted away from once-popular models such as the Renault Scenic and VW Touran and the C-Max, which Ford discontinued.

Premium coupe sales fell 37 percent to about 58,200 on big declines for the BMW 2 Series and Mercedes C-Class.

Premium convertibles also had a bad year, down 34 percent. Only the Porsche 911 showed any growth, up 20 percent, helping it finish the year at No. 3 in the segment.