Cyprus had one of the lowest shares of electric passenger cars in the EU in 2022 (just 0.14% of all cars), but that share has increased over the past few years, particularly in 2022, according to data published by Eurostat, the statistical service of the European Union.

Meanwhile, the rate of passenger cars per inhabitant has remained stable in Cyprus (0.65 per inhabitant or 653 per 1000 persons, from 0.66 per inhabitant in 2021) and close to the EU average (0.56 per inhabitant, unchanged from 2021).

Regarding the share of electric cars in Cyprus, this stood a bit higher than the almost zero recorded in some regions of the EU, while remaining significantly lower than the highest share in the EU (12.8% in Flevoland of the Netherlands).

During recent years there was a gradual, if small, increase of this share in Cyprus, from just 0.02% in 2018, to 0.03% in 2019, 0.04% in 2020 and 0.06% in 2021. However in 2022 there was an important increase compared to the previous year, as the share doubled to 0.14%.

The lowest shares of electric cars, close to zero, were recorded in seven regions in Greece, and one each in Czechia, Poland and Spain.

Regions in the Netherlands and Sweden stood out among the EU regions with the highest share of electric passenger cars in all cars. The highest shares were recorded in Flevoland (12.8%) and Utrecht (6.6%) in the Netherlands, and in Stockholm (6.6%) in Sweden.

Out of the top ten, four regions were in the Netherlands, four in Sweden, and one each in Luxembourg (which is a single region), and Austria.

Higher rates in stronger economies

When it comes to the rate of all types of passenger cars per inhabitant, there were notable regional differences (on the NUTS 2 level, under which Cyprus is considered a single region), from 2.34 in Valle d’ Aosta, Italy, to 0.08 in Mayotte, France.

Regional rates of motorisation (passenger cars per 1000 inhabitants) are often linked to economic conditions but can also be affected by specific circumstances. For example, Valle d’ Aosta’s record rate was influenced by favourable taxation rules.

In 2022, the top three regions with the highest motorisation rate were in north Italy: Valle d’ Aosta with 2339 cars per 1000 inhabitants was followed by Trento with 1431 cars per 1000 inhabitants and Bolzano with 935 cars per 1000 inhabitants.

Among the ten regions with the highest motorisation rate, six were in Italy, and one each in Finland, Greece, the Netherlands and Czechia.

The lowest percentage was recorded in the French overseas region of Mayotte (83 passenger cars per 1000 inhabitants), followed by the Peloponnese in Greece (203 per 1000 inhabitants) and French Guyane (217 per 1000 inhabitants).

Out of the the regions with the lowest motorisation rate, four were in Greece, two were in France, two in Romania, and one each in Germany and Austria. Notably, two among these were the metropolitan areas of Berlin (331) and Vienna (366).