Sales of electrically-chargeable vehicles (ECV) in Europe jumped by 100.7% in the first quarter of 2020, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA).

The report suggests 167,132 new ECV were registered across the EU during the first three months of the year.

Both battery-electric vehicles (BEV) and plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEV) boosted this growth, marking a 68.4% and 161.7% increase respectively.

Hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) remained the best-sellers of the alternatively-powered vehicle segment, representing 9.4% of the total EU car market, with registrations jumping by 45.1% compared to 2019.

The number of diesel cars registered across the EU plummeted by 32.6% to a market share of 29.9%, down from 33.2% for the first quarter of 2019.

With the vast majority of European dealerships closed in March as a result of the containment measures, demand for petrol cars also plummeted.

Petrol sales contracted by 32.2%, from almost two million units last year to 1.3 million in the first quarter of 2020.