Pure electric cars and hybrids were in high demand among Europeans in the first three months. The situation was different with the plug-in hybrids and the gas cars.
New electric car registrations in Europe grew strongly in the first quarter. A total of 61.789 purely battery-powered cars rolled onto the road in the EU, 84,4 percent more than a year ago. The largest market was according to data from the industry association ACEA Germany with 15.944 units and an increase of 74,7 percent. The electric drive was only stronger in Norway: The EFTA state registered 18.655 new vehicles in the first three months and growth of 92,4 percent.
By contrast, sales of plug-in hybrids stagnated in the first quarter. There were 37.385 new registrations across Europe, 0,1 percent more than in the same period last year. Reasons for this may include discontinued or stricter funding programs in some member states. The classic hybrid, on the other hand, increased by 33,3 percent to 184.808 units, the number of new cars powered by natural gas, LPG or ethanol fell by 7,2 percent to 56.886 units.