EV sales double across Europe in 2013

The electric vehicle (EV) market in Europe continued to grow in 2013 with sales doubling compared to the previous year and the introduction of cutting edge new models has been cited as a key reason for the growth.

Transport & Environment (T&E) have released a new report which details how almost 50,000 plug-in vehicles were sold in the EU last year.

According to the report, the three most popular EVs were all launched last year; the Renault Zoe, the Mitsubishi Outlander and the Volvo V60 Plug-in and they accounted for approximately 24,000 sales.

T&E’s study of official figures shows that sales of EVs in the EU have approximately doubled each year since they were first released on the market in 2010.

EVs still only make up a small amount of the EU vehicle market, making up just one new car in every 250 sold.

Greg Archer, T&E programme manager, said: “Electric cars are growing strongly, but at the same time the simple truth is that they are too expensive for most people to consider,” told the Guardian. But the price will come down over time and you will see this technology start to compete. This is a revolution and it will take time to happen.”

Cars and vans are responsible for around 15 per cent of carbon emissions in Europe and the development of the clean transport market is seen as a key way of meeting the EU decarbonisation targets.

The report illustrates how the countries leading the way in EV uptake are also those with the most climate friendly policies.

In Netherlands and Norway, EVs accounted for over 5 per cent of all automobile sales in 2013, compared to less than 1 per cent elsewhere and both used effective financial incentives for consumers.

Similar incentives are used in the UK including the government’s plug-in car grant which offers customers £5,000 towards the cost of a new EV.

In an announcement earlier this year, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said £500 million would be spent on a scheme to boost the electric and hybrid vehicle market in the UK.

The scheme will see more EV charge points installed across the UK, while £200 million will also be used to extend the current grant system.

The report estimates that the growth of EV sales will continue and could see EU sales reach 1 million by 2025.