Fuel types of new cars: battery electric 11.9%, hybrid 22.6% and petrol 37.8% market share in Q3 2022

In the third quarter of 2022, the market share of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) increased further as sales continued to rise. BEVs now account for 11.9% of total EU passenger car registrations (up from 9.8% in Q3 2021). Hybrid electric vehicles also gained market share –making up 22.6% of all sales (up from 21.2% in the third quarter of 2021). Despite losing market share, diesel- and petrol-powered vehicles still dominate the market, with a combined share of 54.3%.

Petrol and diesel cars

From July to September 2022, registrations of petrol cars in the EU slipped by 3.3%, counting 823,360 units. As a result, the market share of petrol shrank from 39.3% in the third quarter of 2021 to 37.8% this year. Nonetheless, petrol remained the most popular fuel type in the EU.

Similarly, sales of diesel cars decreased by 4.7% to 360,596 units sold across the European Union. Diesel’s market share fell by almost 1 percentage point to 16.5% of total sales (down from 17.5% in Q3 2021).

Alternatively-powered vehicles (APV)

During the third quarter of 2022, battery electric vehicles (BEVs) recorded the strongest growth of all fuel types (+22.0%), with 259,449 units registered across the EU. With the exception of Denmark (-2.6%) and Italy (-35.0%), all the region’s markets contributed to this positive performance, with even triple-digit gains in Cyprus (+490.0%), Latvia (+231.8%), Romania (+213.4%) and Bulgaria (+101.7%).

Registrations of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), on the other hand, fell by 6.0% in the third quarter of the year, as all the largest markets in the EU posted losses. Italy and France both recorded double-digit drops (-22.2% and -14.3% respectively), while Germany and Spain posted more modest declines (-0.9% and -1.0%). As a result of this negative performance, PHEVs lost market share compared to the same period last year, now accounting for 8.5% of total car registrations.

With 492,011 units sold from July to September, sales of hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) increased by 6.9%. Their market share expanded by 1.3 percentage point – making up 22.6% of the total market. Among the region’s major markets, only Germany posted a decline (-1.5%). Italy saw the strongest increase (+20.8%), followed by France (+15.6%) and Spain (+11.3%).

EU registrations of natural gas vehicles (NGVs) suffered another double-digit loss (-52.4%), largely driven by the significant fall in Italy (-71.2%) – the region’s largest market, accounting for over 40% of total registrations. As a result, the market share of NGVs halved during the third quarter of 2022 compared to the same period one year ago. Sales of LPG-fuelled cars slipped back by 9.5%, reaching 55,418 units, as the two largest markets for this fuel type suffered declines: France (-14.9%) and Italy (-3.1%).

In the third quarter of 2022, the market share of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) increased further, accounting for 11.9% of total EU passenger car registrations.