EU: Electric vehicles overtake diesel for first time

Liaquat Ali

Sales of new electric battery vehicles overtook diesel car purchases in Europe for the first time last month but activity is far from pre-pandemic levels, a lobby group said.

In June, the market share for cars running on electric batteries rose to 15.1%, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), with more than 158,000 units sold in the EU.

Most EU markets recorded double or even triple-digit percentage gains, with heavyweights Germany, France and the Netherlands all posting increases of more than 50%.

Petrol remained the new car fuel type with the largest market share at 36.3%, while hybrid electric vehicles were second at 24.3%.

Automakers and consumers are looking to steer away from vehicles running on polluting fossil fuels in a bid to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change.