The top three selling EV models in 2013 were the Renault Zoe, Mitsubishi Outlander and Volvo V60 Plug-in; all new entrants to the market.. However, sales of the best-selling models in 2012 (Opel Ampera and Peugeot Citroen iOn / C-zero ) both fell significantly.
Commenting on the report, Greg Archer of Transport & Environment said: “Electric vehicles can play an important role in the shift to more sustainable mobility, and their increasing sales are being driven by carmakers’ need to innovate to meet EU CO2 regulations,”
T&E says that the report highlights the importance of establishing new car emissions standards for 2025 and 2030 to ensure investment in low-carbon vehicles technologies is maintained.
The report says that sales of electric cars in Europe represent around a quarter of global sales. Sales in California are the highest in the world driven by a mandatory but tradeable requirement on carmakers to supply small numbers of these vehicles.
The LowCVP recently published a report which found that the UK automotive sector's renaissance has been driven by a consistently applied low carbon policy focus. The report was launched at the LowCVP Conference on July 15.