A guide to the figures

Electric, hybrid, petrol and diesel: what is the difference?

A car can use petrol and still be a hybrid. To understand the transition, distinguish the energy a car uses from the way it is powered.

What counts as a fully electric car?

A battery electric vehicle (BEV) uses an electric motor and a rechargeable battery, without a petrol or diesel engine. CarDigits reports its share separately from plug-in hybrids.

Is a plug-in hybrid an electric car?

A plug-in hybrid (PHEV) combines an externally rechargeable battery with a combustion engine. It can drive electrically, but is not included in the fully electric share shown here.

What about hybrids that do not plug in?

Non-plug-in hybrids use a combustion engine together with electric assistance. The category includes mild hybrids, because the source data cannot tell them apart from full hybrids. The line against combustion cars differs between countries, so compare hybrid shares within a country rather than between countries. Plug-in and non-plug-in cars are the safer split between countries.

Where are petrol and diesel?

Petrol and diesel are fuels. Both can occur in combustion-engine cars and in hybrids. The overview groups cars by powertrain, so its combustion category is not a complete count of every car that can use petrol or diesel. Use the detailed fuel filter for a specific fuel.

Does market share measure sales?

The figures count newly registered passenger cars in the EEA dataset. They do not count sales contracts, orders or used-car transactions. Registration timing can differ from purchase timing.

What is the difference between percent and percentage points?

If a brand goes from 10% to 12% market share, it gains 2 percentage points. Its registration volume may change by a different percentage, depending on how the whole market develops.

Why does the year matter?

The latest available dataset is not necessarily the current calendar year. Preliminary figures can be revised. Compare the period and coverage shown on each page before drawing conclusions.