Europe is electrifying: record EV sales in 2020

26-01-2021

Despite the many challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Europe saw a massive increase of BEV and PHEV sales in 2020. With well over 1 million registrations, electric cars reached a new sales record. MG played an indelible role with the MG ZS EV finishing in the BEV top-10 in various European countries.

An interesting development is underway in Europe. For the first time since 2015, Europe is ahead of China with the share of BEVs (Battery Electric Vehicle) and PHEVs (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle) in total sales.

With approximately 1.4 million plug-in cars sold in Europe in 2020, sales increased by no less than 137% compared to 2019. This means the share of BEVs and PHEVs grew to over 10%. Many European countries managed to double or even triple EV sales compared to 2019. Ultimately, Europe captured 43% of global EV sales in 2020, compared to 26% in 2019.

Another striking fact: With approximately 398,000 BEVs and PHEVs sold in 2020, Germany is now the second largest EV market in the world after China. Total EV sales were up 254% from 2019, with BEV sales up 191% compared to last year and PHEV sales up 351%. Approximately 1 in 8 plug-in cars worldwide is now sold in Germany. And what about Norway? In 2020, no less than 54% of the total car sales were BEVs! This makes Norway the first country in the world where more electric cars are sold than any other car. The Norwegian electric vehicle organization expects the BEV market share will increase even above 65% by the end of 2021.

Exciting year ahead

Among all the impressive EV figures in Europe, MG also made an impact with its European sales in 2020. As the 100% electric MG ZS EV passed its first full year of sales – The Netherlands (since October 2019), Norway (February 2020), Iceland and Denmark (both only 6 months of sales) – the brand not only realized great sales results. It also reached top 10 positions. In Norway for example, the MG ZS EV is the number 8 best-selling car overall and the 7th best-selling BEV.

2021 will be an even more promising year for MG. The new MG EHS Plug-in Hybrid, the second model in the range, is now for sale in countries like Norway, Iceland, Denmark, The Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Austria and Germany, and soon in Italy, Spain and Portugal as well.

And there is more. MG has announced new promising electric vehicles from the second quarter of 2021. Stay tuned for a lot of exciting news!