Electric vehicles are taking over in Europe. For the first time ever, they outsold gasoline and diesel vehicles combined last month. This is huge, and it’s not hard to see why it’s happening. With fuel costs rising and oil prices through the roof, people are looking for alternatives. Plus, Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers are offering some pretty aggressive pricing, and governments across Europe are throwing in some nice subsidies to sweeten the deal.
The numbers are pretty impressive. In August, over 243,000 electric vehicles were registered across 31 European countries, which is a 52.2% increase from last year. Meanwhile, sales of internal combustion engine vehicles fell by 23.4%. That means electric vehicles outsold them by around 40,000 units, and they now make up 29.2% of all new car sales. It’s clear that people are getting on board with the whole electric vehicle thing, and it’s not just because they’re good for the environment – they’re also becoming a more practical choice.
Of course, it’s not all doom and gloom for internal combustion engine vehicles just yet. They’re still leading the way in terms of cumulative sales from January to August, with over 2.5 million units sold compared to 2.1 million electric vehicles. But it’s clear that the tide is turning, and electric vehicles are going to be a major player in the market from now on. With governments and manufacturers continuing to offer incentives and improve the technology, it’s likely we’ll see even more people making the switch to electric in the coming months and years.