European sales of electric vehicles have nosed ahead of diesels
A crippling shortage of chips for carmakers led to a slump in car sales in Europe in August. Around a third fewer vehicles hit the road than in August 2019, before the pandemic struck, according to JATO, a data firm. That may be bad news for the environment: fewer car sales means drivers are hanging on to older, more polluting cars for longer.
But JATO notes some good climate news, too. Nearly a quarter of the cars sold in Europe last month were full electric vehicles (EVs) or plug-in hybrids. Registrations of such cars across 26 European markets outstripped diesel vehicles for the first time.