ClickGreen.org.uk: France is leading Europe’s electric vehicle revolution with the nation now accounting for more than a quarter of BEV sales across the EU, new figures reveal.
Data released by the European Environment Agency shows around 38,000 electric vehicles were registered in 2014, up by 57 % compared to 2013.
The largest number of registrations was recorded in France, with more than 10,700 vehicles. Germany - around 8 500 vehicles – was in second place with the UK following with around 6,700 vehicles.
The report confirming Europe’s electric vehicle boom also found new cars sold in 2014 emit on average 2.6 % less CO2 than those sold in 2013 and almost 7 grammes of CO2/km below the 2015 target.
The average emissions level of a new car sold in 2014 was 123.4 grammes of carbon dioxide (CO2) per kilometre, significantly below the 2015 target of 130 g, according to provisional data from the European Environment Agency (EEA).
Since monitoring started under current legislation in 2010, emissions have decreased by 17 g CO2/km (12 %). Manufacturers will, nevertheless, have to further reduce emissions to meet the target of 95 g CO2/km by 2021.
Other key findings of the EEA report include:
* A total of 12.5 million new cars were registered in 2014, the first overall increase since 2007. Registrations increased in all EU Member States compared to 2013, except for Austria, Belgium and the Netherlands.
* A new car sold in 2014 emitted on average 123.4 grammes of g CO2/km, significantly below the 2015 target of 130 g CO2/km. Europe had already reached its 2015 target by 2013, two years ahead of schedule.
* Average emissions levels in 2014 were below 130 g CO2/km in 17 of the 28 Member States.
* Significantly more efficient models were bought in the pre-2004 EU Member States compared to the newer EU Member States. The most efficient cars were bought in the Netherlands (107 g CO2/km), Greece (108 g CO2/km) and Portugal (109 g CO2/km), while the least efficient cars were bought in Estonia (141 g CO2/km), followed by Latvia (140 g CO2/km) and Bulgaria (136 g CO2/km).
* Diesel vehicles remain the most sold vehicles in Europe, constituting 53 % of sales. Countries with high proportions of diesel sales include Ireland (74 %), Luxembourg (72 %), Portugal (71 %), Spain (66 %), France and Greece (64 %), Croatia (63 %) and Belgium (62 %).
* Despite minor fluctuations in the past, the fuel efficiency of petrol cars has been catching up with that of the more fuel-efficient diesel cars in recent years. The average emissions gap between petrol and diesel is currently below 3 g CO2/km, around one seventh of the gap in 2000.
