The electric mobility market is gaining steam, with May 2023 forecasts projecting it to be worth around 906.7 billion U.S. dollars worldwide in 2028. Europe is one of the market leaders driving this growth forward. Between 2021 and 2022, the European plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) market had grown by 15 percent year-over-year, and regional and governmental targets could propel sales even further. In 2022, around 29 percent of policies supporting electric vehicle adoption in the light-duty vehicles sector were European policies, with about a quarter of policies surrounding the electric vehicle supply equipment also located in Europe.
All-electric takes the lead in a diverse market
Quarterly PEV sales skyrocketed in the third quarter of 2020, boosted by a greater environmental consciousness due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and have remained elevated through 2021 and 2022. This uptake in new e-vehicle registration led to the displacement of the equivalent of 6.1 billion liters of gasoline in Europe in 2022, making a dent in the region's motor fuel consumption. Spearheading the fleet electrification movement were Germany—which recorded nearly 832,700 electric vehicle sales in 2022—and Norway—with battery-electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles representing approximately 88.6 percent of its 2022 new vehicle sales. The Volkswagen Group was the leading automaker in the region based on battery-electric vehicle (BEV) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) sales. In the BEV segment, Volkswagen Group was ahead of Tesla—the automaker for the two best-selling BEV models in Europe—by some 117,100 new registrations.All-electric cars were the region's most popular electric vehicle type, with a European market share of over 12 percent. However, some countries still prefer plug-in hybrid electric vehicle options in parts due to unequal access to charging infrastructure throughout Europe. Most of Spain's public charging infrastructure was located in urban areas, which made EV charging less practical for interurban trips. It had a battery-electric vehicle market share of almost four percent that same year—compared to nearly six percent for PHEVs.
Regional and national electricity mix adds to Europe's e-mobility challenges
Charging infrastructure accessibility is one side of the charging challenges faced by the region as it prioritizes electric mobility as a more sustainable alternative to traditional internal combustion engine vehicles. Behind China, Europe had the second-highest electric vehicle electricity demand in 2021, requiring over 6,700 gigawatts of electricity (approximately 6.75 terawatts). This demand is a small share of European electricity generation, which stood at around 4,000 terawatts that year. However, while the power supply greatly exceeds the demand, the region's electricity mix remains dominated by nuclear and gas power, with the European Union reporting nuclear energy to produce around 612.8 terawatt-hours of electricity in 2022. However, consumers' environmental consciousness is improving, which could impact their choices when buying and charging an electric vehicle. In an October 2022 survey, 39 percent of German respondents preferred the regular power grid to charge their electric vehicles, while 53 percent would choose alternative power sources or a mix of both. While this energy mix is also country dependent, this places a greater emphasis on governments to regulate both vehicle sales and electricity generation.
