Europe’s new passenger car registrations grew 16% year-on-year to nearly one million units in April 2023. Of that total, new plug-in electric cars contributed more than 197,000 units (up 25% YoY), Jose Pontes reports citing EV-Volumes data.
Even more, the European all-electric market continued to expand in April. However, plug-in hybrid sales slightly declined.
Plug-In electric car sales in Europe – April 2023
Battery electric vehicle sales grew 50% YoY to more than 120,000 units, accounting for 13% of the overall volume. In contrast, plug-in hybrids declined 4% YoY to about 75,400, per InsideEVs’ estimates.
Plug-in car sales in April:
| Powertrain | Sales | Changes YoY | Market Share |
| BEVs | *122,500 | up 50% YoY | 13% |
| PHEVs | *75,400 | down 4% YoY | 8% |
| Total | 197,950 | up 25% YoY | 21% |
Plug-In electric car sales in Europe – YTD
Europe reported sales of over 867,000 new passenger plug-in electric cars this year to date, up 20% YoY. Of that total, BEVs accounted for *0.56 million, while PHEVs hit *0.30 million.
Plug-in car sales this year to date:
| Powertrain | Sales | Changes YoY | Market Share |
| BEVs | about *0.56 million | – | 13% |
| PHEVs | about *0.30 million | – | 8% |
| Total | 867,574 | up 20% YoY | 21% |
In hindsight, the European passenger plug-in car market has over 2.6 million unit sales in FY 2022, representing around 23% of the overall volume.
Top plug-in models
Monthly ranking
As expected, Tesla’s Model Y dominated the plug-in segment in Europe in the fourth month of the year, with sales of 10,778 units. Apparently, it has been ranking first in the bestselling list for the past six straight months already.
Germany’s Volkswagen ID. 4 followed it in the distance with sales of 6,682. The Volvo XC40 (BEV + PHEV) sold 6,004 units, placing it in the top three.
The top five were completed by Volkswagen ID.3 (5,927) and Skoda Enyaq iV (5,101).
April results:
| Ranking | Model | Sales |
| 1 | Tesla Model Y | 10,778 |
| 2 | Volkswagen ID.4 | 6,682 |
| 3 | Volvo XC40 (BEV + PHEV) | 6,004 |
| 4 | Volkswagen ID.3 | 5,927 |
| 5 | Skoda Enyaq iV | 5,101 |
| 6 | Audi Q4 e-tron | 4,991 |
| 7 | MG 4 | 4,244 |
| 8 | Dacia Spring | 4,221 |
| 9 | Fiat 500 electric | 4,072 |
| 10 | Ford Kuga PHEV | 3,929 |
YTD ranking
The Tesla Model Y remained dominant in the year’s first four months, with sales of 83,340 units. The Volvo XC40 (BEV + PHEV) – 26,993 advanced one spot with sales of 26,993 units, kicking the Volkswagen ID.3 to the third spot.
The fourth placer Volkswagen ID.4 sold 22,881 units, while the famous Model 3 ranked fifth with sales of 22,703 units.
YTD results:
| Ranking | Model | Sales |
| 1 | Tesla Model Y | 83,340 |
| 2 | Volvo XC40 (BEV + PHEV) | 26,993 |
| 3 | Volkswagen ID.3 | 23,350 |
| 4 | Volkswagen ID.4 | 22,881 |
| 5 | Tesla Model 3 | 22,703 |
| 6 | Audi Q4 e-tron | 20,414 |
| 7 | Dacia Spring | 18,507 |
| 8 | Fiat 500 electric | 18,268 |
| 9 | Peugeot e-208 | 17,158 |
| 10 | MG 4 | 17,004 |
Top Brands – YTD
American leading automaker Tesla was the bestselling plug-in car brand in the European market in April 2023, based on market share.
Volkswagen followed it from afar with an 8.2% registration volume. BMW ranked third with a 7.7% market share.
YTD rankings:
| Ranking | Brand | Sales |
| 1 | Tesla | 12.6% |
| 2 | Volkswagen | 8.2% |
| 3 | BMW | 7.7% |
| 4 | Mercedes-Benz | 7.7% |
| 5 | Volvo | 6.5% |
| 6 | Audi | 5.4% |
Top plug-in automotive groups – YTD
German auto group VW ranked first with a remarkable 19.6% share, with the Volkswagen brand contributing 8.2%.
Stellantis beat Tesla’s 12.6% with its 13.9% market share, placing the Franco-Italian-American automaker in the second spot.
BMW ranked fourth with a market share of 9.3%, with the BMW brand accounting for 7.7% of the total volume.
YTD rankings:
| Ranking | Group | Sales |
| 1 | Volkswagen Group | 19.6% share (Volkswagen brand at 8.2%) |
| 2 | Stellantis | 13.9% |
| 3 | Tesla | 12.6% |
| 4 | BMW Group | 9.3% share (BMW brand at 7.7%) |
| 5 | Geely–Volvo | 9.1% |
| 6 | Mercedes-Benz Group | (Mercedes-Benz brand at 8.6%) |
See Also:
- Tesla relaunches famous referral program in Europe to boost Q1 sales
- Volkswagen increases European BEV sales goal to 80% in 2030
- Europe: All-electric vehicle sales accounted for 10% of new car sales in January
- Europe: Plug-in car sales hit remarkable record in December 2022
- Europe to lead the world in electric vehicle sales from 2030
It is remarkable how Tesla has been beating its European rivals in their own home market, which demonstrates the American automaker’s competence in the electric vehicle industry.
