15 European Countries Had Highest Share of EVs in New Car Sales in 2020

European nations are leading the way in new Electric Vehicle (EV) sales despite the emergence of Mainland China as the biggest market for EVs. According to data presented by TradingPlatforms.com, 15 European countries had the highest share of plug-in EVs in new passenger car sales in 2020 – Norway had the highest at 75 per cent.

Electric Vehicles have become more popular in recent times, accounting for 4.2 per cent of the world’s total light-vehicle sales in 2020 compared to just 2.5 per cent in 2019. Only eight countries achieved an EV share of 5 per cent or higher in 2019, but in 2020 13 countries were able to cross the 10 per cent mark of new light-vehicle sales.

Norway leads all nations by a wide margin with an incredible 74.8 per cent plug-in EV share of new passenger car sales in 2020. Iceland was a distant second at 45 per cent, making them the only other country to have an EV share that accounted for more than a third of its total new light-vehicle sales in 2020.

Europe leading the way in new EV sales

The top 15 countries with the highest EV share of new light-vehicle sales in 2020 were all European. China is the first country outside of Europe to feature on the rankings with 6.2 per cent, for the 16th highest share in the world, despite being the largest market for EVs in terms of unit sales. Notably, the USA is well below the top nations at just 2.3 per cent

Rex Pascual, Editor at TradingPlatforms.com, commented on the rise of Europe’s EV market; “EV had a strong 2020 despite the economic downturn caused by the pandemic. Many rich European nations effectively use policies such as tax exemptions and subsidies to encourage the purchase of EVs, making the continent a robust emerging market in the ever-growing EV industry.”