Hybrid vehicle sales in 2021 equal those of diesel for the first time in Europe

In 2021, for the first time, as many new hybrid cars as diesels were sold in Europe, while 100% electric vehicles continued their progression, albeit less spectacularly than in 2020, the manufacturers announced.

In a sluggish car market that has returned to its 1990s level, sales of electrified vehicles — hybrids, plug-in hybrids and electrics — outpaced gasoline vehicles in the fourth quarter.

Given the shortage of electronic chips, the builders gave priority to the most lucrative models such as the electrified ones, although this type of vehicle has also been affected by the lack of semiconductors and could not withstand the great growth of 2020.

In the whole of 2021 in the European Union (EU), sales of non-rechargeable hybrids (diesel or gasoline) grew by 60.5% year-on-year to 1.9 million sales, representing 19.6% of the market.

It is the same share as simple diesel vehicles, affected by the dieselgate scandal and heavy sanctions, whose sales fell by a third (-31.5%) on the continent, indicated the European Association of Automobile Manufacturers (ACEA) it’s a statement.

Sales of plug-in hybrids, equipped with a combustion engine and a small electric motor, also rose 70.7% to 867,092 vehicles, accounting for 8.9% of the market.

“The hybrid has become the solution for manufacturers to reduce their average CO2 emissions″, he pointed Felipe Munozfrom the Jato Dynamics office.

Electricity sales continued their progression (+63.1%) to 878,432, which represents 9.1% of the market (against 1.9% in 2019 and 5.4% in 2020), driven by public aid for the purchase and supply each increasingly widespread among manufacturers.

France and Germany, the two main markets, continued electrification, while Sweden, Ireland or Italy doubled sales of this type of vehicle.

Close to the European Union, the United Kingdom saw electric sales increase by 76%. And in Norway, 19 of the 20 best-selling models in January were electric, with a market share of 83.7%. “The electric market is consolidating, especially in the largest marketsMunoz commented.

Smaller markets such as Romania or Greece are moving in the same direction with the arrival of concessions both for high-end vehicles from the pioneer Tesla and for cheaper models from other large manufacturers, he added.

Faced with plans by the European Commission to ban sales of combustion vehicles by 2035, most manufacturers have increased their offer and sales of electric and hybrid vehicles.

European leader Volkswagen doubled its sales of battery cars, between its ID4 SUV and ID3 compact. At Renault, hybrids and electrics accounted for 30% of its sales in 2021 against 17% in 2020. And Toyota sells 70% of its vehicles in Western Europe in a hybrid version.

The environmental association Transport & Environment welcomed these figures, but called for tougher targets from the European Commission.

“This unprecedented growth is undeniably the result of European emissions targets”, which limit vehicle emissions to 95 grams of CO2 per kilometer, said Julia Poliscanova of T&E in a statement.

“But these rules become less difficult for builders to respect. Emissions rules need to be more ambitious to prevent electric sales from finding themselves back in the right lane“, He said.