Europe has emerged as the world’s largest electric vehicles market, overtaking China. Due to COVID-19, European Union (EU) governments have provided subsidies to purchase electric vehicles as a way to boost domestic demand. And strict emission regulations that will take effect next year might have driven sales of electric vehicles.
According research firm Markline, sales of electric vehicles in Europe reached 881,000 units in the January-October period, outpacing those in China with 789,000 units sold. Sales of new cars in Europe fell 27 percent year-on-year. But sales of electric vehicles increased more than 100 percent from the same period last year.
With current trends, Europe electric vehicles market might surpass China on an annual basis
Analysts say that Europe’s rise to become the biggest market for electric vehicles is largely attributable to countries’ provision of subsidies for purchasing electric vehicles while making environmental investment a goal to boost the economy. In May, France announced its policy of providing up to 7,000 euros for electric vehicle purchases. If government subsidies and other subsidies are added together, up to 12,000 euros can be provided.
After the French government announced its policy, sales of electric vehicles increased 3.2 times from June to October from a year earlier. And Germany also introduced a subsidy policy that supports up to 9,000 euros when purchasing electric vehicles.
Volkswagen was the largest company in Europe in terms of sales than the same period last year-on-year. Volkswagen sold 183,000 units, 3.9 times more than a year earlier. France’s Peugeot Citroen sold 8,000 electric vehicles. It plans to replace all models it sells with electric vehicles by 2025.
EU strict environmental regulations
The European Union’s strict environmental regulations involving major European countries also led to strong sales of electric vehicles. For all vehicles sold in the region, the EU introduced a policy to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 30 percent from 130 grams per kilometer to 95 grams. Car manufacturers who violate the law will be fined 95 euros for exceeding 1 gram. As a result, most car makers will have to pay huge fines if they do not reduce emissions next year.
Not only Europe but also the U.S. and Japan are making efforts to transform themselves into eco-friendly energy. The EU has announced plans to inject $558 billion into green hydrogen by 2050. While Canada plans to supply 27 percent of its energy needs with hydrogen by 2050. Australia has announced its ambition to become Asia’s largest exporter of hydrogen by 2030. U.S. President-elect Joe Biden has declared that he will invest $5 trillion in eco-friendly and renewable energy over the next decade.
