Research Brief
Plug-in hybrid vehicle market trends and policies in China, Europe, and the United States
From 2021 to 2024, the share of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) in new passenger car sales grew from 3% to 19% in China and from 1% to 2% in the United States, but decreased from 9% to 7% in Europe. Such variations in PHEV sales share have been shaped by policy developments in each market.
This brief compares the sales developments of the world’s three largest PHEV markets from 2014 to 2024, from eight perspectives: sales, sales share, segment distribution, technology evolution, number of models sold, electric range, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, and electricity consumption. It also explores the policies behind these developments. Although details may differ, governments in all three markets have signaled plans to tighten regulations on PHEVs in light of evidence that the real-world emissions of PHEVs are higher than expected.
Figure. PHEV sales in China, Europe and the United States, 2014-2024
We found two similarities of the PHEV markets in China, Europe, and United States:
- Almost all of PHEVs sold in the last decade were light-duty vehicles (3.5 tonnes or less).
- SUVs have become the most popular segment in all PHEV markets analyzed.
These three markets also differed in several ways:
- PHEV sales and market penetration declined in Europe from 2021 to 2024 while a prominent and continuous increase of sales was observed in China.
- Range-extended electric vehicles gained increased market penetration in China from 2020 to 2024, while in Europe and the United States, these vehicles had negligible sales and limited model availability.
- The fleet-average type-approval electric range of PHEVs in China exceeded 100 km from 2023 to 2024, considerably higher than the average range of around 70 km in Europe and the United States during the same timeframe.
- From 2014 to 2024, while the average type-approval CO2 emissions of PHEVs in China and Europe decreased, the average in the United States increased.