Defining the Electric Vehicle Landscape
This indicator offers a snapshot of electric vehicle adoption, both in terms of absolute numbers and their share of overall new vehicle registrations. The indicator encompasses two primary types of electric vehicles:
- Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs): These vehicles operate exclusively on electricity, drawing power from an onboard battery that must be recharged at a charging station connected to the local power grid.
- Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs): PHEVs combine an electric motor with an internal combustion engine, allowing them to run on either power source or a combination of both. Their batteries can be charged from the grid, and the combustion engine provides supplemental power when needed or when the battery charge is low.
Indicator Calculation Methodology
The indicator’s methodology involves calculating the proportion of electric vehicles (BEVs and PHEVs) within the total vehicle fleet for different vehicle types, such as passenger cars and light commercial vehicles. This is achieved by dividing the number of electric vehicles by the total fleet size for each specific vehicle category.
Policy and Environmental Relevance
Stringent environmental regulations have steadily encouraged the introduction and promotion of more fuel-efficient and less polluting vehicles over time. New electric vehicle registrations serve as an indirect gauge of advancements in road transport fuel efficiency and the reduction of harmful emissions.
The primary aim of this indicator is to monitor the adoption rate of electric vehicles within the market. This data allows for the assessment of progress towards achieving environmental goals.
Contextual Background
The transportation sector accounts for nearly a quarter of Europe’s greenhouse gas emissions. Consequently, EU legislation sets mandatory emission targets for both new cars and vans. These regulations have led to the gradual improvement of vehicle fuel efficiency and an increase in the proportion of zero- and low-emission vehicles, particularly electric vehicles. New registrations of electric vehicles provide an indirect measure of these improvements. The fundamental objective of this indicator, therefore, is to track the growth of electric vehicles in the market, enabling an evaluation of progress towards environmental targets.
Targets
There are no specific targets set for this indicator until 2025.
A manufacturer’s specific CO2 emission target (as outlined in Regulation (EU) 2019/631) will be relaxed if the percentage of zero- or low-emission vehicles it registers in a given year surpasses 15% from 2025 onwards and 35% from 2030 onward. See also indicator TERM017 for more information.
Related Policy Documents
- Regulation (EU) 2019/631: This regulation, issued by the European Parliament and the Council on April 17, 2019, establishes CO2 emission performance standards for new passenger cars and light commercial vehicles. It repeals Regulations (EC) No. 443/2009 and (EU) No. 510/2011.
Accuracy and Uncertainties
- Methodology uncertainty: Not available.
- Data sets uncertainty: No uncertainty in the dataset.
- Rationale uncertainty: Not available.
Data Sources and Providers
The following datasets from the European Environment Agency (EEA) are used:
- Monitoring of CO2 emissions from passenger cars, 2023 – Provisional data
- Monitoring of CO2 emissions from passenger cars, 2010 – Final data
- Monitoring of CO2 emissions from passenger cars, 2011 – Final data
- Monitoring of CO2 emissions from passenger cars, 2012 – Final data
- Monitoring of CO2 emissions from passenger cars, 2013 – Final data
- Monitoring of CO2 emissions from passenger cars, 2014 – Final data
- Monitoring of CO2 emissions from passenger cars, 2015 – Final data
- Monitoring of CO2 emissions from passenger cars, 2016 – Final data
- Monitoring of CO2 emissions from passenger cars, 2017 – Final data
- Monitoring of CO2 emissions from passenger cars, 2018 – Final data
- Monitoring of CO2 emissions from passenger cars, 2019 – Final data
- Monitoring of CO2 emissions from passenger cars, 2020 – Final data
- Monitoring of CO2 emissions from passenger cars, 2021 – Final data
- Monitoring of CO2 emissions from passenger cars, 2022 – Final data
