Sales of electric vehicles in March surged across Europe, up 23% to 275,108 units, according to data from Jato Dynamics.
Overall, the European new car market showed signs of improvement in March, with registrations of new passenger cars totalling 1,423,340 units, up by 3.2% compared to March 2024.
JATO Dynamics data for 28 markets across the region shows that a total of 240,891 battery electric vehicles (BEVs) were registered in March.
This marks the second highest result on record for this powertrain, behind December 2022 when registrations reached 275,108 units.
Last month, BEVs accounted for 16.9% of total registrations, marking an increase of 2.7 percentage points in market share compared to March 2024, as volumes rose by 23% year on year. In terms of units registered, this was the strongest quarter for BEVs on record.
Felipe Munoz, Global Analyst at JATO Dynamics, said: “March was a momentous month for BEV registrations in Europe, indicating that the positive response we are seeing to the continually broadening offer is finally having a real impact on the overall market.”
Tesla – the world’s largest BEV maker by sales volume in 2024 recorded a 30% drop in registrations.
This was the most significant decline among the 30 most registered brands, surpassed only by Mitsubishi in 33rd position (-43%), Lancia in 41st position (-73%), Jaguar (-82%), Smart (-65%), Maserati (-39%) and Abarth (-75%).
Despite the negative trend, the 30% drop experienced in March was less severe than those recorded in January (-47%) and February (-44%).
“As the brand continues to deal with a host of PR issues in addition to the changeover of the Model Y, Tesla is now relying on the Model 3 to offset its loses”, Munoz added.
The midsize sedan recorded an increase of 1.1% to reach 12,500 units, topping the BEV ranking alongside the Model Y.
While the Model Y (-49%) and Model 3 (-14%) both recorded notable declines between January and March, they were still able to outpace all other electric cars in Europe.
The Volkswagen ID.4 followed in third position thanks to an outstanding 115% increase in registrations but remained 2,000 units short of the Model 3.