Adieu, Europe! China takes top spot for green car sales in 2021
The Empire strikes back
Story byIoanna Lykiardopoulou
Ioanna is a writer at TNW. She covers the full spectrum of the European tech ecosystem, with a particular interest in startups, sustainabili(show all)Ioanna is a writer at TNW. She covers the full spectrum of the European tech ecosystem, with a particular interest in startups, sustainability, green tech, AI, and EU policy. With a background in the humanities, she has a soft spot for social impact-enabling technologies.
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China’s 2020 slump
The CPCA’s analysis indicates that 2020 was a rough year for China, which allowed Europe to take the global market lead for the first time, reaching 44% of NEVs sold.
In contrast, China’s market share dropped to 41%, even though it held a dominant position between 2016 and 2019.
The CPCA attributes this slump to two main reasons: revamped environmental policies and the COVID pandemic.
And this sounds rather accurate.
In 2020, Chinareduced the number of EVs and hybrids eligible for subsidies,andstopped providing them for fuel cell vehicles entirely. On the other side of the world,most of European countrieswere offering tax breaks and purchasing incentives to attract consumers to electric machines.
And while China was the first nation to be hit by the pandemic — and the first to deal with manufacturing setbacks — the outbreak’s consequences made an appearance in Europe some months later.
For now, it looks like China’s back on track. The battle is far from over — and the coming years will show if it continues itsEVdominance, or if other continents can catch up.
