EV sales in Europe continue to break records in 2021 with a 63% increase to nearly over 1.2 million sales. This is 3.4 times as much as the EV tally in 2019. The market share of EVs topped 10% for the first ever at 10.2%, up from 6.2% in 2020, 2.3% in 2019 and 1.3% in 2018. Plug-in hybrid vehicles also broke records with sales up 68% to just over 1 million deliveries. In total, plug-in vehicles had a market share of 19.1% of the total European car market, up from 11.3% in 2020.
Norway has the highest EV penetration in Europe, with 63.7%, followed by Netherlands at 19.8%, Sweden at 19%, Austria at 13.6% and Germany at 13.5%.
Among manufacturers, VW Group is the biggest producer of EVs in Europe for the second consecutive year, with a share of 25%, ahead of Stellantis at 14.5%, Tesla at 13.9%, Hyundai-Kia at 11.2% and Renault Group at 10.3%. Just 2 years ago, Tesla had a commanding 31.1% share of the European EV market, while VW Group was still at 14% and PSA & FCA combined had just 1.5%.
When looking at individual brands, Tesla reclaims control of the EV ranking with sales up 70% to 167,500 units, just about 1,200 deliveries ahead of Volkswagen which is up 42%. Renault follows in third place with 97,000 deliveries, down 7%. Hyundai and Peugeot follow, ahead of Kia, Audi and Skoda. BMW is in 9th place ahead of Fiat, Opel/Vauxhall, Mercedes, Smart, Nissan and Mini.
2021 EV sales Europe by brand
| Brands | 2021 | 2020 | Change | 2019 | Change 2021-2019 | |
| 1 | Tesla | 167.549 | 98.558 | 70% | 110.960 | 51% |
| 2 | Volkswagen | 166.357 | 117.153 | 42% | 30.979 | 437% |
| 3 | Renault | 97.129 | 104.440 | -7% | 45.816 | 112% |
| 4 | Hyundai | 72.912 | 58.330 | 25% | 30.765 | 137% |
| 5 | Peugeot | 70.493 | 43.784 | 61% | 0 | New |
| 6 | Kia | 62.668 | 39.168 | 60% | 13.683 | 358% |
| 7 | Audi | 56.232 | 34.927 | 61% | 18.376 | 206% |
| 8 | Skoda | 49.103 | 14.701 | 234% | 0 | New |
| 9 | BMW | 45.388 | 23.276 | 95% | 31.963 | 42% |
| 10 | Fiat | 44.334 | 6.501 | 582% | 0 | New |
| 11 | Opel/Vauxhall | 42.972 | 19.622 | 119% | 0 | New |
| 12 | Mercedes-Benz | 41.383 | 16.891 | 145% | 0 | New |
| 13 | Nissan | 35.733 | 32.783 | 9% | 35.032 | 2% |
| 14 | Smart | 35.692 | 27.216 | 31% | 16.524 | 116% |
| 15 | Mini | 29.712 | 16.599 | 79% | 0 | New |
| Segment total | 1.205.387 | 739.329 | 63% | 354.525 | 240% |
- Tesla Model 3 reclaims the top spot of the ranking with a 64% jump in deliveries to just over 140,000 units, the first time any EV sells over 100k in Europe.
- The Volkswagen ID.3 is up 32% into 2nd place, ahead of last year’s leader Renault Zoe which loses 30% of its sales. The ID.3’s crossover sister model Volkswagen ID.4 is up to 4th place in its first full year of sales, just ahead of its sibling Skoda Enyaq. That completes a top-5 entirely made of EV exclusive models.
- The best selling non-exclusive EV is the Kia Niro Electric with a take rate of over 52%, just ahead of its sister model Hyundai Kona Electric with a take rate of 39%. They”re split by the Fiat 500e which makes up about a quarter of total Fiat 500 deliveries in 2021.
- The Zoe’s most direct rival Peugeot 208e is uup 35% but still sells well below the Zoe. It has a take rate of 21.7%.
- The Volkswagen e-U! makes a comeback with sales up 87% and a take rate of 59%.
- The Nissan Leaf has its second best year ever with sales up 8% on last year.
- Best selling newcomer among EVs is the Tesla Model Y at #12, ahead of the Dacia Spring at #16.
2021 EV sales Europe by model
| Electric Car Segment | 2021 | 2020 | Change | 2021 EV share | 2021 EV share | |
| 1 | Tesla Model 3 | 140.868 | 85.979 | 64% | 100% | 100% |
| 2 | Volkswagen ID.3 | 72.723 | 55.172 | 32% | 100% | 100% |
| 3 | Renault Zoe | 69.136 | 99.432 | -30% | 100% | 100% |
| 4 | Volkswagen ID.4 | 53.605 | 4.984 | 976% | 100% | 100% |
| 5 | Skoda Enyaq | 48.283 | 741 | 6416% | 100% | 100% |
| 6 | Kia Niro Electric | 46.790 | 31.195 | 50% | 52,7% | 40,1% |
| 7 | Fiat 500e | 44.334 | 6.500 | 582% | 25,2% | 4,6% |
| 8 | Hyundai Kona Electric | 42.920 | 39.020 | 10% | 39,0% | 30,7% |
| 9 | Peugeot 208e | 42.450 | 31.450 | 35% | 21,7% | 15,8% |
| 10 | Volkswagen e-Up! | 40.973 | 21.910 | 87% | 59,0% | 36,8% |
| 11 | Nissan Leaf | 33.772 | 31.177 | 8% | 100% | 100% |
| 12 | Mini e | 29.712 | 16.600 | 79% | 26,2% | 15,0% |
| 13 | Tesla Model Y | 27.687 | 0 | New | 100% | – |
| 14 | Smart Fortwo | 26.869 | 19.576 | 37% | 100% | 100% |
| 15 | Peugeot 2008e | 26.453 | 11.655 | 127% | 13,8% | 7,5% |
| Opel Corsa-e | 26.096 | – | – | 14,2% | – | |
| Dacia Spring | 25.740 | 1.724 | 1393% | 100% | 100% | |
| Renault Twingo | 25.549 | – | – | 43,9% | – | |
| BMW i3 | 25.029 | 23.361 | 7% | 100% | 100% | |
| Ford Mustang Mach-E | 23.054 | 185 | 12362% | 100% | 100% | |
| Polestar 2 | 20.949 | 8.746 | 140% | 100% | 100% | |
| Mercedes-Benz EQA | 20.795 | 0 | New | 27,7% | 0% | |
| Audi e-tron | 20.632 | 26.777 | -23% | 100% | 100% | |
| Hyundai Ioniq 5 | 19.954 | 0 | New | 100% | 100% | |
| Mercedes-Benz EQC | 18.233 | 14.645 | 24% | 100% | 100% | |
| Audi Q4 e-tron | 16.472 | 0 | New | 100% | – | |
| Porsche Taycan | 16.250 | 12.332 | 32% | 100% | 100% | |
| BMW IX3 | 15.826 | 0 | New | 19,4% | 0% | |
| Mazda MX-30 | 12.249 | 9.477 | 29% | 100% | 100% | |
| Audi e-Tron Sportback | 10.144 | 6.405 | 58% | 100% | 100% | |
| Seat Mii | 9.428 | 7.790 | 21% | 100% | 100% | |
| Smart Forfour | 8.823 | 7.640 | 15% | 100% | 100% | |
| Jaguar I-Pace | 8.079 | 13.444 | -40% | 100% | 100% | |
| Kia EV6 | 7.941 | 0 | New | 100% | – | |
| MG5 | 5.424 | 81 | 6596% | 100% | 100% | |
| Skoda Citigo | 5.264 | 14.120 | -63% | 100% | 100% | |
| Audi e-Tron GT | 4.927 | 0 | New | 100% | – | |
| BMW iX | 4.131 | 0 | New | 100% | – | |
| Honda e | 3.752 | 4.078 | -8% | 100% | 100% | |
| Mercedes-Benz EQV | 3.475 | 2.132 | 63% | 17,3% | 8,8% | |
| Cupra Born | 3.415 | 0 | New | 100% | 100% | |
| Audi Q4 e-tron Sportback | 3.111 | 0 | New | 100% | – | |
| Volvo C40 | 1.152 | 0 | New | 100% | 100% | |
| BYD Tang | 1.068 | 0 | New | 100% | 100% | |
| Mercedes-Benz EQS | 1.027 | 0 | New | 100% | 100% | |
| Aiways U5 | 946 | 619 | 53% | 100% | 100% | |
| MG Marvel R | 792 | 0 | New | 100% | – | |
| BMW i4 | 762 | 0 | New | 100% | 0% | |
| Tesla Model X | 496 | 6.007 | -92% | 100% | 100% | |
| Tesla Model S | 456 | 5.562 | -92% | 100% | 100% | |
| Xpeng G3 | 438 | 86 | 409% | 100% | 100% | |
| Maxus Euniq 5 | 388 | 0 | New | 100% | – | |
| Hyundai Nexo | 214 | 468 | -54% | 100% | 100% | |
| Mercedes-Benz EQB | 210 | 0 | New | 0,6% | 0% | |
| Nio ES8 | 200 | 0 | New | 100% | – | |
| Seres 3 | 131 | 0 | New | 100% | – | |
| JAC IEV7S | 127 | 7 | 1714% | 100% | 100% | |
| Opel Ampera-e | 115 | 2.775 | -96% | 100% | 100% | |
| Renault Megane-e | 45 | 0 | New | 100% | – | |
| Xpeng P7 | 40 | 0 | New | 100% | – | |
| Hongqi E-HS9 | 25 | New | 100% | – | ||
| Citroën C-Zero | 14 | 1.839 | -99% | 100% | 100% | |
| Xpeng P5 | 8 | 0 | New | 100% | – | |
| Peugeot iOn | 4 | 333 | -99% | 100% | 100% | |
| Others | 83.391 | 113.305 | ||||
| Segment total | 1.205.387 | 739.329 | 63% |
If you require any additional data on EV sales (or charging infrastructure) worldwide for your business, please get in touch with us for a quotation. We can supply on request:
- Monthly registrations on all BEV, PHEV, FCEV and HEV by country and model.
- Future plug-in (BEV & PHEV) vehicle roll-out calendar 2018-2022
- Vehicle Specification database on all selling plug-ins (BEV & PHEV)
- Charging Infrastructure database by Country and Connector Type
- Battery Shipment Tracker by Chemistry, Battery Maker & to which OEM, in MWh.
- BEV & PHEV Buses & CV Registrations
Car sales statistics are from the following countries: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland.
Sources: Manufacturers, ANDC, JATO Dynamics, ev-sales.blogspot