Electric car sales surge 14% in flagging European market

Electric car sales increased by 14% across Europe in September, reversing a period of sustained decline in demand for EVs, but car sales were down across the board. 

Figures from industry analysts Jato Dynamics reveal that 212,197 battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) were registered in September – up from 186,380 in the same month last year. 

Jato attributes the uptick in EV demand to the success of various incentives across the region – France’s EV tax reductions and Italy’s state-backed scrappage scheme, for example – but was cautious on whether the upward trend will be sustained.

“It’s hard to say for certain whether BEVs will continue along this positive trajectory,” said the firm’s global analyst Felipe Muñoz. “But