Battery-powered electric vehicles (BEVs) almost doubled their market share in the European Union during the first quarter of 2022, as the rollout of models across the continent gathers pace.
BEVs accounted for 10 per cent of total passenger car sales in the EU, according to data from the region's carmaker association (ACEA), surpassing plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, which accounted for an 8.9 per cent share.
In total, 224,145 BEVs were sold across the EU in the period January-March 2022 – a significant increase over the 146,125 vehicles sold in the same period in 2021.
Hybrid electric vehicles accounted for more than a quarter of the market, up from around a fifth in the same period last year. Cars powered by petrol and diesel lost market share, but still accounted for 52.8 per cent of the EU market during the period.
Given the surge in BEV sales, Volkswagen's announcement today (Thursday 5 May) that it will invest €10bn to make electric vehicles...