The shift toward electrification gains momentum
Europe’s auto industry is rapidly shifting to electric vehicles as manufacturers race to meet ambitious green targets. With Tesla and Volkswagen leading the charge, the continent is embracing a new era of sustainable mobility.
Europe is the third largest vehicle market in the world, and also the home to a massive automotive industry.
Over the past several years, the phrase "the future is electric" has gained more and more support – and a growing number of automakers are transitioning into full electric car companies.
Some manufacturers aim to produce and sell only electrified cars by 2030, while others aim for a certain percentage of total sales to be electric cars by that time. One of the companies with perhaps one of the most outspoken goals is Volvo Cars – half of the company’s total sales will be electrified by 2025, followed by only fully electric cars in 2030. The Volkswagen brand has said that it will only produce electric cars in Europe from 2033.
The automotive industry is deemed crucial to Europe’s prosperity. And it is an industry in a major transformation. For instance, the European Union wants to make all new cars and vans sold in Europe zero-emission from 2035.
The European Environment Agency (EEA) highlights a steady annual increase in electric vehicle numbers across Europe. Preliminary data shows that in 2023, electric cars made up 23.6% of all new car registrations. EVs have thus transitioned from a niche market to a more mainstream option. According to a report by McKinsey & Company, over 875,000 new battery electric vehicles (BEVs) have been sold across Europe since the start of 2024.
As stated earlier, the European EV market continues to grow, and looking at specific brands Tesla is leading the pack as the most popular EV brand in Europe. However, Volkswagen Group is the top OEM.
According to data accumulated from the European Alternative Fuels Observatory, VWW Group accounted for 19.5% of all EV sales in Europe in February 2024. Stellantis was the runner-up with 12.2%, followed by Tesla at 11.6%.
| Rank | Model | February | % |
| 1 | Tesla Model Y | 19,946 | 9.8% |
| 2 | Tesla Model 3 | 8,120 | 4.0% |
| 3 | Peugeot e-208 | 5,319 | 2.6% |
| 4 | Volvo XC40 (BEV+PHEV) | 5,034 | 2.5% |
| 5 | MG4 | 4,990 | 2.5% |
| 6 | Skoda Enyaq | 4,270 | 2.1% |
| 7 | Volvo XC60 PHEV | 4,251 | 2.1% |
| 8 | Audi Q4 e-Tron | 3,914 | 1.9% |
| 9 | Volvo EX30 | 3,675 | 1.8% |
| 10 | BMW i4 | 3,638 | 1.8% |
| Source: European Alternative Fuels Observatory based on ev-volumes | |||
On September 19, Evertiq is bringing its Expo back to Sweden's automotive hub – Gothenburg. Home to automotive companies such as Volvo Cars and Polestar, but also other major players in the automotive space such as Novo Energy, Einride, Zenseact, WirelessCar, and Smart Eye. During the day Tesla will be present at the show, bringing with them several of their car models – which both exhibitors and visitors will have the opportunity to take for a spin.
