One in 11 cars sold were battery-electric, the data from the
European Automobile Manufacturers' Association showed, totalling just under
880,000 vehicles.
Self-charging hybrid cars contain a battery charged by an
internal combustion engine, and generally can only drive a limited distance on
electric power.
Plug-in hybrids are powered primarily by a battery charged
externally and thus seen as more environmentally friendly, but are backed up by
an internal combustion engine, while battery-electric cars run on the battery
alone.
A total of 1,901,239 million self-charging hybrid cars were
registered in the European Union throughout the year, a significant jump from
the 1.1 million registered in 2020.
Diesel registrations, which have cratered since the
Dieselgate scandal in 2015, fell by a third from last year's 2.77 million to
1,901,191.
New government subsidies for low- or zero-emission vehicles
that took effect as part of pandemic recovery programmes trebled sales of
plug-in hybrid and battery-electric vehicle sales in 2020 to over one million,
with a roughly even split between the two types.
The plug-in hybrids are seen by carmakers as a technology of
transition to fully-electric cars, but their green credentials have been
criticised by environmental groups as studies have shown drivers rely more than
hoped on the internal combustion engine over the battery, pushing up the
vehicles' emissions.
In 2021, battery-electric vehicle sales grew by 63.1% to
nearly 878,500 cars, the data showed, while plug-in hybrid sales grew 70.7% to
nearly 867,100.
Petrol remained the most common fuel type but by a lower
margin than last year, constituting 40% of new registrations, down from 48% in
2020.
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