Electric cars: EU moves at two speeds as northern Europe leads registrations

Brussels – The European Union is moving at two speeds when it comes to clean mobility. Northern European regions are most likely to choose electric cars, while southern European regions are buying fewer of them, showing a preference for more traditional engines or different options such as hybrids. This is what emerges from data released by Eurostat, the European Union’s statistical office, updated to 2024, which shows that Italy is struggling to renew its car fleet with battery-powered options. 

Looking at the numbers, there are regions in the EU where electric cars account for 22.08 per cent of total vehicles on the road, such as the Dutch region of Flevoland, followed by Stockholm (14.4 per cent), and Hovedstaden in Denmark (13.3 per cent). In Italy, the autonomous province of Trento leads the way in electric car mobility, with just 3.31 per cent of the four-wheeled vehicles in circulation. It is followed by the autonomous province of Bolzano, with a rate of 1.8 per cent. In short, Italy and its regions are lagging behind in stimulating demand for battery-powered cars.

Because, as the European Statistical Institute points out, “the share of electric cars can be linked to several factors, such as government incentives (such as tax breaks or subsidies), availability, and access to charging stations, as well as the supply of electric cars and their cost.” This means that some parts of the European Union need to do more, given that in 2024, the highest share of electric cars among all cars were registered in the northern regions.