European Car Makers Post Increases in Electric Vehicle Sales, Bet on Market Growth -- At a Glance

By David Sachs

As Europe's big five car makers shift production and sales to battery-electric vehicles, some companies have reported that the fully-electric vehicles comprised an increasingly larger chunk of total sales last year, and in 2023 are targeting a bigger piece of a pie that is still eaten up by--but slowly ceding to-- internal combustion engines:

-- BMW AG's share of fully electric vehicles sold grew to 9% in 2022, up from 4% previously, on 215,755 units sold, according to annual reports. The German owner of the BMW, MINI and Rolls Royce brands said it aims for BEVs to comprise 15% of all sales this year.

-- Volkswagen AG's share of BEV deliveries rose to 7% last year, up from 5% previously, with 572,100 units sold, according to its annual report. The German auto giant said it will continue to invest in fossil-fuel-burning vehicles but expects expenditures to taper off after 2025. Volkswagen said it will invest heavily on BEVs and digitalization over the next five years, with a focus on China and the U.S.

-- Stellantis NV said it sold 288,000 BEVs worldwide last year, about 5% of all sales, up from around 2% in 2021. The Netherlands-based company has 23 gasoline-free vehicles on the market and said it will launch nine new options coming this year. Stellantis, which has 14 brands including Dodge and Jeep, said it will break into the U.S. BEV market this year with a Ram van, and aims to launch 13 new BEV models in the country by 2025, supported by its electric vehicle component plants in Indiana.

-- Mercedes-Benz Group AG sold 149,200 BEVs in 2022, good for around 7% of all sales--up from about 5% the year prior. The German luxury auto maker said it aims to double its sales of fully electric cars in 2023 for the second year straight by continuing to adapt its manufacturing sites for the post-combustion-engine era. The company said, however, that doubling BEV sales will depend on a stable and flexible supply chain.

-- Renault's set of electrified vehicles --BEVs and hybrids, as the company doesn't offer a breakdown-- accounted for about 11% of worldwide sales last year, up from about 8% the year prior, according to annual reports. But the company's electrified sales comprise a larger share in Europe alone, where last year the company says 39% of its cars were either BEVs or hybrids.

Write to David Sachs at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 15, 2023 12:50 ET (16:50 GMT)

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