EV market growth in Europe continues as sales doubled in the continent last year. Drive reported sales of electric vehicles surged despite the new-car market experiencing a general downturn because of supply chain issues brought upon by the COVID-19 pandemic and computer chip shortages.
According to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA), sales of EVs grew by a massive 63.4 percent in 2021, from 745,644 units sold in 2020 to 1,218,360 vehicles delivered last year. ACEA got the sales figures from the member nations of the European Union and former members of the EU but now standalone country, the United Kingdom. ACEA also included data from three nations that are part of a European Free Trade Agreement, namely: Norway, Iceland, and Switzerland.
The spike in EV sales was somewhat of a surprise considering the overall new-car market went down by 1.9 percent year on year. A total of 11,774,885 new vehicles were reported as sold in Europe in 2021, which was marginally lower than the 11.95 million units sold in the continent from the previous year.
As per Automotive News Europe, Tesla's Model 3 sedan led the electric charge in Europe, reportedly selling 141,429 units in 2021. That was enough to put the Model 3 inside the top 20 of overall car sales in Europe last year, with Tesla's popular sedan finishing 2021 as the 17th best-selling vehicle in the continent.
Tesla Model 3 was the main choice for European buyers when it came to electric vehicles, with its sales output almost double than the car ranked in second place. That honor belonged to the Renault Zoe, which recorded 71,614 sales last year. Volkswagen grabbed the next two spots, with the ID siblings finishing third and fourth in European EV sales.
Volkswagen sold 69,206 units of the ID.3 in Europe last year, while the ID.4 was not that far behind with 54,715 vehicles sold. Rounding out the top 5 was the Kia Nero EV, which accounted for sales of 46,705 in the continent.
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Tesla may be the one in charge of the electric car segment, but when it comes to overall car sales in Europe, Volkswagen remains the undisputed king. For the 14th straight year, Volkswagen Golf was recognized as the best-selling vehicle in Europe. The famous model sold 205,405 units from January through to the end of December last year.
It was not all good news for Volkswagen, as per Hindustan Times, as sales of the VW Golf took a massive drop compared to its 2020 numbers. Volkswagen suffered a 29.7 percent decline in Golf sales last year. Peugeot came close to ending Volkswagen's winning streak with its 208 hatchback clocking up 196,729 sales last year. Rounding out the top 5 were the Dacia Sandero, Renault Clio, and Peugeot 2008.
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