EU exports 8.2 billion euros worth of electric, hybrid vehicles in 2019

In 2019, the European Union (EU) exported 8.2 billion euros worth of electric cars and hybrid electric cars that can be driven in combination with a petrol or diesel engine. Imports of electric and hybrid electric cars were worth 7.1 billion euros, resulting in a trade surplus of 1.1 billion euros, according to data released on Tuesday by the European Statistical Office (Eurostat).

Overall, the 2019 trade in electric and hybrid electric cars was dominated by electric cars, which accounted for 69% of the value of EU imports and 56% of the value of EU exports. Hybrid electric cars accounted for 31% of imports and 44% of exports.

In 2018, the exports increased by 24% compared to 2017, while in 2019 they increased by 54% compared to 2018. The imports more than doubled between 2017 and 2018 (+104%), while they more than tripled (+208%) between 2018 and 2019.

During the first months of 2020, the exports of electric and hybrid cars increased compared with the previous year (2.9 billion euros in January-April 2020, 2.5 billion euros in January-April 2019). April 2020 was an exception as the exports collapsed to only 0.3 billion euros (compared with 0.8 billion euros in April 2019). The low trade in April 2020 was most likely due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, the imports increased as well from 1.8 billion euros in January-April 2019 to 3.1 billion euros in January-April 2020 - with the exception of April 2020 that increased only slightly compared with April 2019.

The main destinations for EU exports in 2019 were the United Kingdom (26% of exports in terms of value), Norway (22%) and the United States (19%), while imports into the EU came primarily from the United States (43% of imports in terms of value), South Korea (23%) and the United Kingdom (17%).