Self-charging hybrid automobiles outsold diesel cars in Europe

In the European Union, a total of 1,901,239 million self-charging hybrid automobiles were registered throughout the year, a considerable increase from the 1.1 million registered in 2020

FREMONT, CA: According to data released on 2 February, 2022, self-charging hybrid automobiles, which have both an internal combustion engine and a battery, outsold diesel cars in Europe for the first time in 2021, albeit by only 48 units. Further the data from the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association stated that one out of every eleven automobiles sold was a battery-electric vehicle, totaling just fewer than 880,000 vehicles. Self-charging hybrid automobiles have a battery that is charged by an internal combustion engine and can only travel a certain distance on electricity. Plug-in hybrids are powered mostly by an externally charged battery, making them more environmentally friendly, but they also have an internal combustion engine, whereas battery-electric automobiles are powered solely by the battery.

In the European Union, a total of 1,901,239 million self-charging hybrid automobiles were registered throughout the year, a considerable increase from the 1.1 million registered in 2020. Diesel registrations plummeted by a third from 2.77 million last year to 1,901,191 in 2022, following the Dieselgate incident in 2015. New government incentives for low- or zero-emission vehicles implemented as part of pandemic recovery programmes tripled sales of plug-in hybrid and battery-electric vehicles to over one million in 2020, with a roughly equal part between the two types.

Carmakers see plug-in hybrids as a technology of transition to fully-electric vehicles, but environmentalists have criticized their green credentials, claiming that studies indicate drivers rely more on the internal combustion engine than they should, increasing pollution. According to the data, battery-electric vehicle sales increased by 63.1 percent to almost 878,500 cars in 2021, while plug-in hybrid vehicle sales increased by 70.7 percent to over 867,100 cars. Petrol was still the most popular fuel type, but by a smaller margin than in 2021, accounting for 40 percent of new registrations, down from 48 percent in 2020.