Overview
- Monday’s report from New Automotive and E‑Mobility Europe showed battery‑electric registrations up 51% in March to about 224,000, topping 500,000 in the first quarter and, by their estimate, trimming oil use by roughly 2 million barrels a year.
- Growth spread across major markets, with Germany near one in four March sales after incentives returned, Italy up 65% year to date to an 8.6% share, France at 28%, and Norway at 98.4% fully electric.
- Chinese carmakers are capitalizing on the demand spike, with CPCA citing rising EU market share and March exports of roughly 371,000 new energy vehicles, while Southeast Asian orders at recent shows skewed heavily toward EVs.
- The United States charted a different path, with first‑quarter EV sales down 27% year over year as tax credits lapsed and several models were canceled, leaving fewer choices even as gasoline prices climbed.
- Tighter supply is spilling into secondary channels, with Australia’s used EV sales jumping from 3,176 in February to 7,557 in March and auctioneer Pickles reporting a 35% price rise for repairable EVs.