Charted: The rise of battery-only electric cars in the EU

Mar 1, 2023

This article was originally published in collaboration with eurostat.

In 2021, the number of battery-only electric passenger cars in the EU reached 1.9 million. Image: Unsplash/ dcbel

Eurostat

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The number of battery-only electric passenger cars in the EU has increased significantly, says Eurostat.
In 2021, there were 1.9 million - compared with 1.1 million in 2020.
Luxembourg registered the highest share of newest passenger cars, with 19%.

In 2021, the number of battery-only electric passenger cars in the EU countries reached 1.9 million (+76% compared with 2020: 1.1 million).

The highest rate of increase in battery-only electric passenger cars in the period 2013-2021 was noted between 2019 and 2020 (+83%), followed by the increase in 2021 compared with 2020. The share of battery-only electric passenger cars in the total number of passenger cars grew from 0.02% in 2013 to 0.76% 2021.

This information comes from data on transport equipment published by Eurostat today. The article presents a handful of findings from the more detailed Statistics Explained articles on passenger cars in the EU and transport equipment.

A graph showing battery-only electric passenger cars in the EU from 2013-2021.

Battery-only electric passenger car numbers increased by 76% between 2020 and 2021. Image: Eurostat.

The overall share of battery-only electric passenger cars is expected to grow considerably over the coming years in the run up to the 2035 EU ban on combustion engine cars. The ban is linked to the Sustainable Development Indicator on reducing CO² emissions from new passenger cars.

Overall, the passenger car fleet in almost all of the EU members has grown over the last five years, reaching a total of 253 million passenger cars in 2021 (+17% compared with 2013).

A bar chart showing passenger cars in the EU from 2013-2021. battery-only electric passenger car

The passenger car fleet in almost all EU countries has grown over the past five years. Image: Eurostat.

The highest share of the newest passenger cars (2 years and less) among the EU members was registered in Luxembourg (19% of all passenger cars in Luxembourg), followed by Sweden (16%), France, Austria and Belgium (all 15%). Meanwhile, the oldest passenger cars (20 years or older) were registered in Poland (41%), Estonia (33%) and Finland (29%).

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