Some 43% of the total number of cars imported into the European Union last year were either fully electric or hybrid vehicles, new data from Eurostat has found.
This marks a one-percentage-point decline on the previous year, the data showed. At the same time, however, the percentage of electric or hybrid cars exported from the EU increased by one percentage point, to 28% of the total.
Fully-electric cars accounted for 16% of EU car imports and 12% of exports last year, while plug-in hybrid cars accounted for 6% of car imports and 5% of car exports.
Non plug-in hybrid cars accounted for 21% of imports and 11% of exports, the data showed.
Imports and exports
There has been a significant increase in both the import and export of electric and hybrid cars to and from the European Union over the past decade – back in 2017, the total share of electric/hybrid imports was 8%, while the share of exports stood at 2%.
Overall, the EU imported €42.4 billion worth of electric and hybrid cars from countries outside the bloc in 2024, a 12% decline in the previous year, when the value of imports stood at €48.3 billion.
Exports fell by 8% to €57.3 billion, down from €62.5 billion in 2023.
Imports from China
China was the EU’s top import partner for electric and hybrid cars, supplying 55% of total imports. South Korea accounted for 16% of total imports, while Japan and the United States each represented 9%.
In terms of exports of electric and hybrid cars, meanwhile, the UK was the leading destination for EU-made electric cars, accounting for 31% of the total, followed by the United States (23%) and Norway (11%).
Within the EU, electric and hybrid cars made up almost a third of total vehicle production last year, with 3.9 million electric or hybrid cars produced in 2024, out of a total 12.1 million cars produced across the bloc. Fully-electric vehicles accounted for 13% of production, plug-in hybrids 6%, and non-plug-in hybrids 13%.
The total value of EU car production was €322 billion in 2024, a decrease from €337 billion in 2023, Eurostat noted. Read more here.
