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Europe no longer leads green vehicle sales in 2021

After being overtaken by Europe in 2020, China is back at the top of global green vehicle sales.

As the medals rain down at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China finds itself at the top of green vehicle sales in 2021. The world’s largest car market, the Chinese market had been suffering since 2018, against a backdrop of economic slowdown , trade tensions and health crisis. Combined, these elements had enabled Europe to overtake the most populous country in the world in 2020.

The situation is improving and the Chinese media CnEVPost reports that China sold 3.31 million NEVs, out of a global volume of 6.23 million in 2021. As a reminder, NEVs (for new energy vehicles) are vehicles running to new energies such as electric cars, plug-in hybrids or fuel cells. Based on data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), this means that China is the leader in this area with 53% of the global market. The Middle Kingdom is ahead of Europe (33%) and the United States, whose share stands at 11%, indicates The Next Web.

These figures join those published at the end of January by the International Energy Agency. The latter explained that sales of electric cars had reached 6.6 million in 2021, including 3.4 million in China. β€œIn other words, more electric cars were sold in China alone in 2021 than in the whole world in 2020”, adds the IEA. Regarding Europe, the agency estimates that sales of electric cars increased by almost 70% in 2021 to reach 2.3 million. Of the lot, about half were plug-in hybrids.

China or Europe, when the crisis reshuffles the map

The Chinese market has picked up again after a particularly difficult 2020. The pandemic and the drastic measures have caused sales to plummet, leaving the possibility for Europe to take the lead in the world market for the first time. The various measures taken by European governments have also contributed to the enthusiasm for electric vehicles.

The situation was reversed and China was able to move forward. On the Old Continent, however, the consequences of the Covid-19 health crisis are still being felt. It remains to be seen how the Chinese market will react to the government’s decision to remove subsidies for electric vehicles. These purchase aids will decrease by 30% at the start of the year, before disappearing completely at the end of 2022.

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