LONDON - Carmakers are hurtling towards an electrified future as governments around the world apply increasing pressure on emissions levels, and last month saw a significant milestone for the so-called ‘new energy’ car.
In the month of September electrified cars outsold diesel-powered cars in Europe, according to JATO Dynamics. Keep in mind, however, that the definition of ‘electrified’ encompasses not only fully-electric vehicles but also hybrids. But it’s a significant milestone nonetheless, considering that just 10 years ago diesel vehicles accounted for half of all sales on the continent.
Of course, the revelations that followed the dieselgate scandal of 2015 has seen diesel on a downward spiral.
“The shift from ICEs to EVs is finally taking place,” says JATO Dynamics analyst Felipe Munoz. “Although this is largely down to government policies and incentives, consumers are also now ready to adopt these new technologies.”
Ironically Volkswagen, having bounced back from the aforementioned diesel scandal, is proving to be one of the main protagonists in the electrified revolution with its ID.3 electric hatch. Last month the carmaker registered 40 000 electrified vehicles in Europe, second only to Toyota. With VW set to expand its ID family in the near future,the German carmaker could certainly take the lead in the EV market.
“For the first time in the modern era, alternative-fuelled vehicles outsold one of the two internal combustion engine types,” JATO Dynamics said. “This marks significant change - for just five years ago, diesel cars were a dominant player in Europe.”
The industry information specialist added that demand for petrol and diesel cars showed double-digit drops compared to September 2019, while the volume of EVs increased by 139 percent to a record 327 800 units.
Pure electric car demand was led by Tesla, although its volume fell by 5 percent, while its closest rivals such as Volkswagen and Renault saw increases of 352 percent and 211 percent respectively.
In September, Mercedes-Benz was the leader in the plug-in hybrid segment with 22 percent market share, followed by Volvo and BMW.
IOL Motoring