Clean cars catch up to conventional ones; 2023 marks a key moment for EU mobility

Brussels – Clean cars are on the rise in the EU: so much so that in 2023, the combined share of all hybrid and battery-only vehicles matched that of pure petrol and pure diesel cars (48.3 percent versus 48.8 percent, respectively), according to data released by Eurostat on registered four-wheelers. The 2023 new passenger car registration data is an opportunity to assess the situation. In the year, 10.7 million vehicles were registered. Among them, pure petrol cars had the highest share (34.5 percent), followed by non-plug-hybrid-petrol (21.1 percent) and battery-only electric (14.5 percent).

Looking at the overall figure, however, that is, the sum of new registrations in the last ten years, between 2013 and 2023, the share of clean and conventional cars on the road has practically reached the same level thanks to the “rapid growth in battery-only electric car registrations” over the past decade, the European Statistical Institute points out.

At a country level, however, there are differing realities and preferences. In the mobility revolution, Italians prefer hybrid cars. Regardless of driving preference, the Italian figure confirms the European tendency to move away from traditional ones. Conversely, at least three EU member states lag in the implementation of sustainable mobility policies, with Bulgaria (7 percent), the Czech Republic (20 percent), and Croatia (28 percent) having the lowest rates of registration of clean hybrid or battery-powered cars. The numbers show how much more progress is still needed in the EU to promote green habits.