The market share of BEVs in Eastern European countries will remain very low in 2023
- The market share of BEVs reached 13% of the total passenger car sales in Europe at the end of the first quarter of 2023, compared to 12% at the end of the first quarter of 2022. But the distribution by country is far from uniform. Europe is even cut in two: BEVs have a share of more than 13% in 14 countries and a share of less than 13% in 15 countries.
- Among the 14 countries where BEVs represent more than 13% of sales, we note the presence of 14 countries from the former Western Europe region (17 countries), but southern countries such as Greece, Italy and Spain are not included.
- The most fervent adopters of BEVs are the countries of the North, with Norway at the forefront (Norway: 85%; Sweden: 36%; Finland: 31%; Denmark: 30%). Next come central countries with high purchasing power (Netherlands: 26%; Luxembourg: 19%; Austria: 18%; Switzerland: 17%), then three other countries (Portugal: 16%; Ireland: 16%; Belgium: 16%) and finally the three largest European countries (United Kingdom: 15%; France: 15%; Germany: 14%). We note that Germany is neck and neck with France, despite three national carmakers very involved in BEV technology (Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes).
- The 15 countries whose BEVs represent less than 13% of the market, in addition to Greece, Italy and Spain mentioned above, are the 12 countries of the former Eastern Europe region, i.e. the former satellite countries of the Soviet Union and the latest arrivals in the European Union. For these countries, switching to battery electric vehicles from 2035 is clearly mission impossible. It should be noted that the countries where the BEV market share is the lowest are Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.