Germany, UK and the Nordic countries dominated EV sales in 2022

PARIS -- Full-electric vehicles accounted for 14 percent of all new cars sold in Europe in 2022, largely driven by big increases in Germany, Europe’s largest auto market, and the UK. Only Italy registered a decline for the year.

Full-electric vehicle registrations increased 29 percent to 1.58 million, industry group ACEA said on Wednesday. In absolute terms, 357,162 more new battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) were registered. ACEA includes the EU, the UK, and the EFTA countries (Iceland, Norway and Switzerland) in its figures.

Germany accounted for about one-third of that gain, as BEV sales rose by 32 percent to 471,394 (see chart, below). Sales in Britain were up by 40 percent to 267,203.

Wealthier Northern European markets that have led the way in BEV adoption continued to show strong growth, with Sweden up 66 percent, Finland up 61 percent, Switzerland up 26 percent, Denmark up 23 percent, Norway (where BEVs made up 80 percent of all sales in 2022) up 22 percent and the Netherlands up 15 percent.

Other major markets that equaled or outpaced the average included Belgium, up 66 percent; Spain, up 29 percent; and France, up 25 percent. In Italy BEV sales fell by 27 percent.

Sales rose sharply in most smaller Eastern European markets, although generally from a very low base.

Two Tesla models led the list of best-selling full-electric vehicles in Europe in 2022, according to figures from Dataforce, as the overall EV market grew by 29 percent.

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The best-selling EV was the Tesla Model Y SUV, with 137,819 sales, easily outpacing the second-best seller, the Tesla Model 3 sedan, with 92,150 sales. The Model Y was the best-selling car overall in Norway and Switzerland.

Plug-in sales fall

Plug-in hybrid sales were down slightly in 2022, falling 2.7 percent to 1.01 million. An 11 percent gain in Germany offset declines in other major plug-in hybrid markets such as France and the UK (each down about 11 percent).

The Ford Kuga SUV was the best-selling plug-in hybrid, with sales of 57,968, a 25 percent gain, according to Dataforce.

Sales of full-hybrid vehicles increased 8.5 percent to 2.64 million for a market share of 23 percent, ACEA numbers show.

Key new models included the Toyota Yaris Cross, which in its first full year on the market represented almost 100,000 new full-hybrid sales, out of a total European gain of about 205,000 sales. 

Overall, ACEA said 44 percent of all cars sold had some kind of large battery, meaning full-electric, plug-in hybrid or full hybrid.

Sales of gasoline models fell 13 percent to 4.14 million for a 37 percent market share. Diesel sales dropped by 21 percent to 1.64 million for a 15 percent market share. Diesels accounted for almost half of sales as recently as 2015.