In December, European electric vehicle sales surpassed diesel vehicle sales for the first time

A few days ago, according to foreign media reports, in December 2021, 18 European countries, including the United Kingdom, sold 176,000 electric vehicles, an increase of more than 6% year-on-year, more than one-fifth of the total new car market to a record high; compared with diesel car sales of nearly 160,000 units, accounting for less than 19%.

In the European market, the reason why electric vehicles have been greatly developed is that in addition to the government subsidies for electric vehicles provided by various countries, they have also benefited from the implementation of more stringent emissions laws in these countries. Coupled with these two factors, the sales of electric vehicles in Europe are growing steadily.

Since the Volkswagen "dieselgate" incident was exposed in 2015, diesel vehicle sales in the European market have been steadily declining. This, coupled with the ban on old diesel vehicles in some cities and the increase in diesel vehicle taxes in major markets, has further affected diesel vehicle sales. Germany's new coalition government has hinted at an interest in reconsidering the fuel tax credit, which is currently about 14 cents cheaper per liter of diesel than premium gasoline. Last year, Volkswagen sold about 310,000 electric vehicles, while the number of electric vehicles registered in Western Europe reached 1.19 million.