• Europe’s EV market grew 17% YoY in Q3 2022 despite an 8% overall passenger car sales decline.
• Germany continued to lead the European EV market by taking a 33% share of the sales.
• The top 10 EV models accounted for 27% of EV sales in Q3 2022.

New Delhi, London, Beijing, San Diego, Buenos Aires, Hong Kong, Seoul – December 20, 2022

Europe’s passenger electric vehicle (EV) sales* increased 17% YoY in Q3 2022, according to the latest research from Counterpoint’s Global Passenger Electric Vehicle Model Sales Tracker. Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) accounted for 61% of total EV sales during the quarter. Germany was the region’s largest market with a third of the total volume, followed by the UK and France.

Commenting on the market dynamics, Vice President of Research Peter Richardson said, “The overall European automotive market has declined for three quarters due to a mix of economic pressures and supply chain disruption. However, major European automotive-producing countries like Germany, UK, Italy and Spain have shown some growth in sales this quarter with EVs being a relative bright spot.”

Source: Global Passenger Electric Vehicle Model Sales Tracker, Q1 2018-Q3 2022

Market summary

Mercedes-Benz continued to lead Europe’s EV market with a 9.2% share in Q3 2022. BEVs accounted for 35% of its total EV sales with 75% YoY growth. Its plug-in hybrid EV (PHEV) models include the GLE-Class, GLC-Class and C-Class, while its top-selling BEV models are the EQB, EQA and EQC. Although Mercedes leads Europe's EV sales, it has failed to find a place in the top 10 best-selling models list. Mercedes has 20 models to offer, the highest among all automakers, and most of them have a similar sales share of less than 1%.

Volkswagen took a sales hit in Q2, losing 44% of EV sales YoY. But its supply chain recovered in Q3, enough for it to surpass BMW to become the second largest EV brand with a market share of 8.9%. Its BEV model range is led by the ID series, which includes the ID.3, ID.4 and ID.5 models. It also significantly improved shipments of its PHEV models.

BMW slipped to the third position, taking 8.6% volume share. Its BEV range contributed to 45% of its EV sales. Its top-selling BEV model was the i3 followed by the i4 and iX. The X5 was its best-selling PHEV model, followed by the 3 series and X3.

Among other top-selling brands, Tesla significantly improved its sales from the previous quarter and broke into the top five brands list again. In September, the Model Y was the best-selling EV model in Europe, accounting for 70% of Tesla’s sales.

The top 10 EV models in Europe contributed to around 27% of the EV market in Q3 2022. Best-selling EVs in Q3 were the Tesla Model Y, Volkswagen ID.4 and Ford Kuga.

Source: Global Passenger Electric Vehicle Model Sales Tracker, Q1 2018-Q3 2022

Commenting on the market outlook, Associate Director Mohit Agrawal said, “We expect the European EV market to remain just under 2.5 million unit sales in 2022. European governments are investing heavily in charging infrastructure, which is helping ease consumer anxiety about adopting EVs. This shift is evident in Counterpoint’s Global Passenger Vehicle Model Sales Tracker. Currently, luxury car brands like Mercedes and BMW are leading EV sales because of the combination of EV and PHEV offerings. But once the affordable mainstream European brands like Renault, Volkswagen and Peugeot strengthen their EV portfolios, we expect overall EV sales volumes to move sharply higher.”

*Sales here refer to wholesale figures, i.e. deliveries out of factories by respective brands/companies.

*The countries in this study include Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK and Ukraine.

*Under electric vehicles (EVs), we are considering only battery EVs (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid EVs (PHEVs). Hybrid EVs and fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) are not included in this study.

The comprehensive and in-depth ‘Global Passenger Electric Vehicle Model Sales Tracker: Q1 2018-Q3 2022’ is now available for purchase at report.counterpointresearch.com.

Feel free to reach us at [email protected] for questions regarding our latest research and insights.

Background

Counterpoint Technology Market Research is a global research firm specializing in products in the technology, media and telecom (TMT) industry. It services major technology and financial firms with a mix of monthly reports, customized projects and detailed analyses of the mobile and technology markets. Its key analysts are seasoned experts in the high-tech industry.

Analyst Contacts

Soumen Mandal

Mohit Aggarwal

Peter Richardson

Counterpoint Research

[email protected]