Sales of pure electric vehicles in Western Europe surpass diesel vehicles

According to data compiled by independent automotive analyst Matthias Schmidt, sales of pure electric vehicles in 18 markets in Europe, including the UK, surpassed diesel vehicles for the first time in December 2021.

In December 2021, the proportion of new vehicle sales of pure electric vehicles exceeded 20%, while the proportion of diesel vehicles (including diesel hybrids) was less than 19%. Pure electric vehicle sales in Western Europe rose more than 6% annually to 176,000 units, a record high, with only 160,000 diesel vehicles sold in the same month.

During the supply chain crisis, European automakers were fined by the EU after prioritizing the production of the most profitable models, mainly polluting SUVs. To avoid fines, European automakers boosted sales of electric vehicles last December.

Diesel car sales have been steadily declining since Volkswagen was found to be cheating in emissions tests for 11 million diesel engines.

Thanks to government subsidies from countries such as Germany and strict regulations introduced in 2020 that require EU automakers to sell low-emission vehicles, sales of electric vehicles are growing steadily.

There are currently about 600,000 pure electric vehicles on the road in Germany. In an agreement released last November, Germany's ruling coalition mentioned that the new German government plans to put at least 15 million pure electric vehicles on the road by 2030, higher than the previous government's set of 10 million. This means that Germany will sell 1.6 million pure electric vehicles a year, which is equivalent to one pure electric car for every two new cars.

German Transport Minister Volker Wissing said at a meeting hosted by the German Business Daily on January 17 that the German government's target of 15 million electric vehicles (EVs) by 2030 includes pure electric vehicles and hybrids, and although hybrid vehicles also contribute to emission reductions, in an ideal situation, the target hope of 15 million vehicles is pure electric vehicles.

The British Association of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) noted in November last year that uk electric vehicle sales in 2022 are expected to surpass conventional diesel and hybrid diesel vehicles. Last year, the number of pure electric vehicle registrations in the United Kingdom increased by 76.3% to 190727 units, and the market share rose from 6.6% to 11.6%.

Improving the charging experience has also become a top priority for industry players. Emma Delaney, head of the customer and products division at BP, said strong demand in the UK and Europe has brought the profit margin of the electric vehicle fast charging business closer to that of the traditional gasoline refueling business. But she did not say when the overall profit amount of the fast charging business can surpass the traditional refueling department.

Royal Dutch Shell announced on Jan. 13 that it would open its first charging centre in london's Fulham area, replacing existing petrol/diesel refueling guns at existing gas stations with ultra-fast charging piles.