Electric vehicles eclipse diesel vehicle sales in Europe for the first time

For the first time ever, electric vehicles outsold diesel vehicles in Europe, although overall car registrations were down 18%. 

JATO, an automotive market research firm, analysed new car registrations across 26 European markets, which includes the UK, Germany and France, and found that sales of diesel vehicles have plummeted. 

In August 2020, diesel vehicles continued to outsell electric vehicles across the continent, with a gulf of 158,300 units between them. However, in August 2021, there has been a complete reversal, with electric vehicles outselling diesel vehicles by 10,100 units. 

The reversal isn’t solely to do with plummeting diesel vehicle sales, but also due to the rapid increase in the popularity of electric vehicles. In fact, during August 2021, electric vehicles enjoyed their highest market share in the European market at 21%, with particularly strong demand for European EVs, such as the Fiat 500, Peugeot 208, Vauxhall Corsa and Volkswagen ID.3. 

Strong demand in August 2021 represents a year-on-year increase of 61%, taking electric vehicle sales in 2021 to 1.32 million units across Europe. That is a significant boost to the market, despite a slowdown in car sales amidst a global chip shortage. 

The increasing demand for electric vehicles comes as the UK faces a fuel crisis, which is likely to lead even more consumers to consider electric in the near future.