This many plug-in cars sold in Europe by 2022

Plug-in car is a broad term

Demand for plug-in cars grew 28 percent to 1.12 million units by 2022 in the European Union. Of course, a plug-in car is a broad term, as both plug-in hybrids and battery-electric cars have a plug.

Battery-electric cars

In terms of battery-electric cars, Germany leads the sales rankings in the European Union with a volume of 471,394 vehicles (+32.3%) in 2022. In second place is France with 203,112 units (+25.3%), followed by Sweden (95,035; +65.4%). The Netherlands takes fourth position with 73,394 full EVs sold (+15.1%), unfortunately just short of a podium finish. Italy was the only country where demand for EVs fell 26.9 percent to 49,179 units. Spain and Italy are taking it easy anyway in electrifying their fleets. Diesels are still widely sold in Italy.

Plug-in hybrids

Then there are the plug-in hybrids. Sales of plug-in hybrids in the European Union grew 1.2 percent last year to 864,103 units. Germany accounts for over 40% of European volume in this segment, with 362,093 vehicles (+11.3%). In France – the number two – sales of plug-in hybrids fell 10.3 percent to 126,547 units.

Sales of hybrids

Sales of hybrid cars in the European Union rose 8.6 percent to 2.1 million vehicles by 2022. In the Netherlands, it was 77,888 units, an 8.6% increase over 2021. For these “hybrid” figures, it is not clear whether MHEVs are also included. In fact, there is a big difference between a full-hybrid and a mild-hybrid.