Electric car sales in the European Union surged 40.5% year-on-year in the first half of the year, reaching

Electric car sales in the European Union surged 40.5% year-on-year in the first half of the year, reaching 1,220,890 units, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA). In June alone, sales jumped 60.7% to 270,557 units. Electric vehicles accounted for 20.7% of total new car sales in the January-June period.

Combined sales of fully electric, hybrid, and plug-in hybrid models captured a 68.9% market share. Petrol car sales dropped 17.2% year-on-year in the first half, with the steepest decline of 61.7% in Denmark, followed by the Netherlands (48.6%), Finland (38%), and France (34.2%). Total new car registrations in the EU rose 13.6% in June to 1,147,962 units.

For the first six months, total sales increased 5.7% to 5,896,683 units. By fuel type, hybrids led with 37.3% market share, followed by petrol (22.2%), electric (20.7%), plug-in hybrids (9.8%), diesel (7.5%), and other fuels (2.6%). Volkswagen remained the top-selling brand with 614,801 units and a 10.4% market share.

Skoda followed with 396,495 units (6.7%), Toyota with 381,849 units (6.5%), Renault with 351,610 units, BMW with 338,559 units, and Peugeot with 299,399 units. Mercedes, Audi, Dacia, and Kia rounded out the top ten. Tesla sales soared 75.4% to 124,242 units in the first half, up from 70,849 a year earlier.