Sales of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid EVs (PHEVs) rose by 17pc as EU legislation forced carmakers to increase the electric portion of their fleets, according to industry association ACEA.
Germany retained its spot as the largest market for BEVs and PHEVs with 31pc growth on the year earlier (see graph), followed by 35pc growth in the UK.
EV sales of Chinese brands BYD and Xpeng — as well as Chinese-owned brands Volvo, Polestar and MG— also rose last month, while sales of Tesla fell 44pc, according to consultancy Jato Dynamics (see graph).
Only France and Belgium registered falls in year-on-year EV sales at 15pc and 9pc respectively. Both registered upticks in sales of hybrid EVs, with sales in France rising in particular, up 51pc to 62,000 units. The continent's next largest HEV markets were Italy at 61,000 and Germany at 58,000 units.
Overall car sales in the continent edged down 3pc on the year last month as petrol and diesel car sales slipped 24pc and 28pc respectively.
Carmakers' push EU to delay CO2 targets
The latest sales data comes as carmakers place increasing pressure on the EU Commission to relax legislation enforcing that carmakers electrify an increasing portion of their fleet.
The commission requires carmaker sales to average around 93.6g of CO2 emissions per km, depending on the size of its fleet. For every 1g/km each firm falls over the required target this year, it must pay a €95 fine: missing the target by 10g/km while selling 100,000 units in 2025 would incur a €95mn fine.
"While year-on-year BEV sales growth over the last two months has been positive, it masks the fact that car registrations have declined by 3pc and that were currently at 17pc market share for BEVs in Europe, when we would ideally be around 25pc", an ACEA spokesperson told Argus.
BEV market share hit 16.9pc in Europe across January-February this year, up from 12.9pc on the year (see graph).
Charging infrastructure, high energy prices and weak tax and purchasing incentives have all contributed to a slower EV buildout than otherwise possible, the spokesperson said.
"You need to look at what may be influencing this consumer behaviour", the spokesperson added, on the question of EU carmakers prioritising sales of more profitable internal combustion engine SUVs.
"Are they perceived as safer vehicles, more carrying capacity, living in the countryside, etc? Currently, there is no information on why consumers are buying more SUVs."
But when questioned on carmakers' lobbying against the Commission to delay CO2 targets, the spokesperson was reluctant to comment. "The key point of all of this is that it should all lead to higher investments."
One consequence of the targets could be that carmakers simply sell fewer petrol-powered units to meet electric quotas.
Other market participants have been more vocal.
"We are seeing the early impacts from manufacturer plans to meet the EU's scheduled CO2 limits, embedding this into production lines", said Chris Heron, secretary general of advocacy group E-Mobility.
"It is critical that European governments now help boost this early sales momentum across 2025, even with this month's concession to weaken those targets."
"European manufacturers have risen to the challenge of the UK's ZEV mandate, with the likes of BMW and Mercedes exceeding their EV sales targets", said Colin Walker of the Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit, a think-tank, "There is every reason to believe they can replicate this success across the continent."
The EU Commission on 24 March added its latest tweak to its CO2 standards for cars and vans, which allow carmakers to meet CO2 targets across a three-year period, rather than over single year, starting this year.
And on 25 March, the bloc selected 47 strategic raw materials projects — including 22 lithium, 12 nickel and 10 cobalt projects — for which it estimates €22.5bn ($24.3bn) of capital investment will be required.
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