The European Association of Automobile Manufacturers (ACEA) has published an interactive map that illustrates the correlation between the market uptake of electrically-chargeable vehicles (ECVs) and GDP per capita for each of the 27 EU member states and the United Kingdom.

• Across the EU, 3.0% of all new cars registered in 2019 were electrically-chargeable (ECVs).

• 11 EU member states still have an ECV market share lower than 1%, of which seven countries even have an ECV share of 0.5% or lower.

• The market uptake of electrically-chargeable vehicles (ECVs) is directly correlated to a country’s GDP per capita, showing that affordability is a major barrier to consumers.

• All countries with an ECV market share of less than 1% have a GDP below €30,000, including EU member states in Central and Eastern Europe, but also Italy and Greece.

• Almost 80% of all electric car sales are concentrated in just six Western European countries with some of the highest GDPs.

• There is a clear split in the affordability of ECVs between Central-Eastern Europe and Western Europe, as well as a pronounced North-South divide running across the continent (eg Greece 0.4% and Italy 0.9%).

ECV market share of the 5 biggest EU car markets:

• United Kingdom – 3.1% (GDP of €37,780)

• Germany – 3.0% (GDP of €41,510)

• France – 2.8% (GDP of €35,960)

• Spain – 1.4% ECVs (GDP of €26,440)

• Italy – 0.9% (GDP of €29,610)