European EV market continues to expand

According to data recently released by Bloomberg New Energy Finance, electric vehicle sales in Europe currently account for 34% of global electric vehicle sales, making it the world’s second-largest market after China. According to data from a Swedish car consulting agency, electric vehicle sales in Europe will reach 2.3 million in 2021, a year-on-year increase of 66%, accounting for 19% of all new car sales, compared with only 3.6% in 2019.

In just a few years, Europe has become one of the markets with the highest penetration rate of electric vehicles in the world, and its rapid growth depends on the strong support of relevant policies. Since 2020, European countries such as Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom have successively introduced demand stimulus measures in the automotive industry to provide subsidies for the purchase of electric vehicles, which has effectively promoted the growth of electric vehicle sales. According to statistics, the sales of electric vehicles in Norway have accounted for 64.5% of the total sales of new cars, and the penetration rate of electric vehicles ranks first in the world. Climate protection goals and related support policies set by the Norwegian government have played an important role.

In July 2021, the European Commission published a proposal for a climate change package aimed at reducing net EU greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. The transportation sector is one of the most important targets for emission reduction. The proposal calls for the introduction of low-carbon transportation methods as well as the supporting infrastructure and fuels as soon as possible. According to the proposal, by 2030, new registrations of fuel vehicles will be reduced by 55% compared with 2021, and by 2035 there will be no new registrations of fuel vehicles; by 2035, a charging station will be built every 60 kilometers on major highways in EU countries , and build a hydrogen charging station every 150 kilometers.

Auto companies are accelerating the electrification of their products. Volkswagen, BMW, Daimler and other European car companies have set electrification goals and launched a variety of new pure electric models. In the first quarter of this year, the Volkswagen Group saw a 65 percent increase in deliveries of pure electric vehicles compared to the same period last year. As of the end of March, Volkswagen had delivered more than 99,000 pure electric vehicles to customers, up from 60,000 in the same period last year, occupying 25% of the European electric vehicle market and ranking first. In March of this year, Tesla’s Gigafactory in Berlin, Germany was completed, and it is expected to produce at least 500,000 electric vehicles and required batteries every year. German Chancellor Scholz said that electric vehicles are expected to shape the future traffic pattern in Europe.

Driven by various initiatives, electric vehicles have made an important contribution to reducing emissions in the European region. An automotive data analysis company has conducted statistics on 17 major European electric vehicle markets, including Germany, France, and the United Kingdom. The data shows that both new and improved electric models are popular in the market, which has a positive effect on reducing carbon dioxide emissions. As a result, the carbon dioxide emissions of new cars in the statistical area in 2021 will decrease by 16% year-on-year.

At present, the relevant supporting infrastructure for electric vehicles in Europe is still insufficient, which restricts the further expansion of the market. The European Automobile Manufacturers Association said that European countries need to continue to increase investment in electric vehicle infrastructure. According to estimates, as many as 14,000 public charging piles need to be installed every week in the EU to meet future usage needs, while the current number of charging piles installed in the EU per week is less than 2,000. The European Union needs to install at least 6.8 million charging points by 2030 to meet its target of a 55 percent reduction in net greenhouse gas emissions, according to a report by consulting firm McKinsey & Company.

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