Over 1.5 million new electric vehicles were registered in the EU for 2023, as shown in a report by industry body ACEA. The figure not only represents a 37% boost compared to 2022, but also means EVs outsold diesels in the EU for 2023.
ACEA (the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association) is comprised of Europe’s 15 major car, truck, and bus producers. The list includes BMW Group, DAF, Daimler Truck, Ferrari, Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Iveco Group, Jaguar Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, the Renault Group, Toyota, the Volkswagen Group and Volvo.
According to the ACEA Data, the overall EU car market reached a volume of 10.5 million registrations in 2023, a 13.9% yearly increase. The top three surges came from Italy (+18.9 percent), Spain (+16.7%) and France (+16.1 %), with Hungary being the only declining market (-3.4%).
Breaking the data down by energy source goes as follows: gas (petrol) vehicles took 35.3%, followed by hybrids (25.8%), EVs (14.6%), diesels (13.6%), plug-in hybrids (7.7%) and others, such as hydrogen (3%). As mentioned in the intro, there were an extra 37% more new EVs delivered in 2023, while diesel vehicle registrations remained at 2022 levels.
The top three markets for EVs in 2023 were Germany, France, and The Netherlands. And here are the electric vehicle battery factory projects in Europe.
For 2023 Tesla Model Y topped overall car sales in the EU and EV sales in America
Note that the numbers above only cover the European Union, not including ETFA countries like Iceland, Norway, or Switzerland, as well as the UK. However, if we look at a recent Dataforce report (via Automotive News Europe) that documents the whole of Europe (EU, EFTA, and UK), we’ll notice the Tesla Model Y was the overall best-seller. The Model Y’s success marked no less than four firsts for Europe’s top-selling vehicle: an EV, a mid-size vehicle, a premium model, and a non-European car. You should also know that no other EV made it to the top 30.
Despite the market expecting the updated Model Y Juniper, Tesla’s aggressive price cuts, which kicked off early last year and are still taking place across Europe, pushed the Model Y electric crossover to 254,822 units sold in Europe. The Dacia Sandero low-cost hatchback came in second with 235,893 units, while the VW T-Rock small crossover came in third with 206,438 units sold.
The Tesla Model Y was the US’s fifth best-selling vehicle overall
According to Car&Driver’s estimative data, The Tesla Model Y was also the best-selling EV in the US for 2023, with a total of 385,900 units. This was followed by the Tesla Model 3 (232,700 units), Chevy Bolt EV/EUV (62,045 units) and Rivian R1S/R1T (47,200).
Nevertheless, in the US, the Tesla Model Y was 2023’s fifth best-selling vehicle. It was beaten by the Ford F-150 (750,789 units, out of which 24,165 were F-150 Lightning EVs), the Chevy Silverado (543,319), the Ram Pickup (444,926) and the Toyota RAV4 (434,943).
The EV trend in 2024 and beyond? While Tesla’s extreme price cuts continue to stir the car industry, legacy US and European carmakers, as well as start-ups from around the world, are striving to introduce their own affordable EVs, which should start between $25,000 and $30,000.
Info via ACEA, Automotive News Europe, Car&Driver; intro image by Freepik