The electric car again managed to gain more market share in Europe last year. In December, the EV was even more popular than the diesel on our continent. Which plugs were the most popular? Data collector JATO Dynamics listed the best-selling EVs in Europe.
The market share of the battery-electric car rose in 2021 from 5.4 to 9.1 percent in Europe. In the sales figures, that translated to an increase of 63.1 percent to 878,432 cars. In December it could already be seen that the Tesla Model 3 was on track to become the most popular EV in Europe in 2021. That ultimately turns out to be correct, because the Tesla Model 3 is proudly at the top of the ranking with 141,221 copies. In the past year, Tesla sold 64 percent more Model 3s than in 2020. The Renault Zoe comes a long way into second place on the podium, with 71,579 copies. The Volkswagen ID3 takes third place with 69,090 copies.
Tesla’s lead is already a lot smaller among the brands. Tesla sold a total of 167,549 EVs in Europe, while Volkswagen sold 166,357. The gap with the third brand is somewhat larger, because Renault sold 97,129 EVs last year. Incidentally, the Volkswagen Group as a whole is the largest EV builder. Both Audi and Skoda are also in the top list of the brands. The biggest riser in 2021 is Fiat with 582 percent. The brand owes this increase entirely to the new 500e, of which it sold 44,334 units in Europe in 2021. This puts the Italians in sixth place for models and tenth for brands.
Best-selling EVs of 2021 (source: JATO)
| Make and model | Sales quantity | Increase/decrease compared to 2020 |
| Tesla Model 3 | 141,221 | +49% |
| Renault Zoe | 71.579 | -28% |
| Volkswagen ID3 | 69,090 | +23% |
| Volkswagen ID4 | 54,476 | new |
| Kia Niro | 46,790 | +50% |
| Fiat 500e | 44,334 | +582% |
| Skoda Enyaq | 44.039 | new |
| Hyundai Kona Electric | 42,920 | -10% |
| Peugeot e-208 | 42,450 | +35% |
| Volkswagen e-Up! | 40,973 | +87% |
| Nissan Leaf | 34,643 | +11% |
| Mini Cooper SE | 29,712 | +79% |
| Smart Fortwo | 27,990 | +43% |
| Dacia Spring | 27.569 | new |
| Peugeot e-2008 | 26,453 | +127% |
Electric sales numbers by brand in 2021 (source: JATO)
| Brand | Sales quantity | Increase/decrease compared to 2020 |
| Tesla | 167.549 | +70% |
| Volkswagen | 166,357 | +42% |
| Renault | 97.129 | -7% |
| Hyundai | 72,912 | +25% |
| Peugeot | 70,493 | +61% |
| kia | 62,668 | +60% |
| Audi | 56.232 | +61% |
| skoda | 49.103 | +234% |
| BMW | 45,388 | +95% |
| Fiat | 44,334 | +582% |
| Opel/Vauxhall | 42,972 | +119% |
| Mercedes-Benz | 41,383 | +145% |
| Smart | 37.113 | +37% |
| Nissan | 35.733 | +9% |
| mini | 29,712 | +79% |
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl