EVs reach milestone in Europe, outselling diesels in December, data shows

Full-electric vehicles surpassed diesels in monthly sales in December in western Europe after a big push for year-end registrations, the first time that has happened, according to new data. 

Battery-electric cars had a market share of 21 percent for the month, the highest ever, while diesels stood at 19 percent, data on 18 western European countries compiled by Berlin-based auto analyst Matthias Schmidt showed. 

Sales of diesels had been falling throughout the year but were still running above electric vehicles through the first three quarters, according to data from the European automotive lobby group ACEA.

There were 2.3 million diesels registered through the end of September, a decline of 26 percent over 2020. There were 801,025 EVs registered in the same period, an increase of 91 percent, ACEA data for the European Union, UK and EFTA countries showed.

Diesel share has declined rapidly since the 2015 Volkswagen diesel cheating scandal. Diesels accounted for about half of all sales at the time compared with one-fifth in December, with 160,000 sales versus 176,000 for pure EVs, data from Schmidt showed.

Schmidt said his data was "99 percent confirmed." 

December's high EV sales figure was partly driven by automakers ensuring they complied with CO2 emissions targets for the EU and UK and avoiding fines, Schmidt told Automotive News Europe. 

Targets put in place in 2020 called for a fleet average of 95 grams per km of CO2, with an exception for a small percentage of high-emissions vehicles as well as "super credits" that weighted EV sales higher.

That exception was not in place in 2021, and the super credit benefit declined, meaning that automakers had to sell more low-emission vehicles in 2021 than 2020.

The December figure was also boosted by Tesla, which traditionally registers more vehicles at the end of a quarter. 

As an example, there were 9,613 Tesla Model 3s registered in the UK in December – 28 percent of the model's total sales for the year in the country, data from the UK automotive association SMMT showed.

Diesels have also come under fire from cities across Europe that have steadily increased penalties for driving older diesel models in city centers in an effort to reduce air pollution.