Electric Car Sales Grow Worldwide, With Europe Leading
Listen to the story
Global sales of electric vehicles increased in July, according to new industry data, with Europe playing a key role in the growth.
While sales in China and North America showed signs of weakness, strong demand in Europe helped balance the global figures and pushed overall growth upward.
Three countries stood out as the main drivers of European growth: France, the United Kingdom, and Germany. Together, they helped Europe become the region leading world sales this year.
China remains the world's biggest producer of electric cars, and Chinese manufacturers continue to sell large numbers of vehicles at low prices, making it difficult for foreign companies to keep up.
Tesla, the American car maker, is described as the only non-Chinese company still able to compete seriously with Chinese electric car brands on a global scale.
European car manufacturers, meanwhile, appear to be struggling to match the pace set by Tesla and Chinese firms. Many traditional European brands have been slower to develop competitive electric models.
The data suggests that while Europe is currently helping to drive global growth in electric vehicle sales, the region's own car industry is not among the leaders in production or technology.
Analysts say this creates a mixed picture: European consumers are buying more electric cars, but many of those cars come from Chinese or American companies rather than European ones.
Vocabulary10 words
- electric vehicles
- vehicles powered by electricity instead of petrol
- manufacturers
- companies that make products
- compete
- try to succeed better than others in the same business
- demand
- how much people want to buy something
- figures
- numbers that show information
- drivers
- here: causes; things that make something happen
- brands
- names of companies or products
- traditional
- existing for a long time; old and established
- consumers
- people who buy and use products
- analysts
- people who study information to explain what it means
Quiz
Answer key
1. An overall increase, led by Europe 2. France, the UK, and Germany 3. False
Fill-in-the-blank listening
Play the audio again and fill in the missing words as you listen.
Global sales of _____ increased in July, according to new industry data, with Europe playing a key role in the _____.
While sales in China and North America showed signs of _____, strong demand in Europe helped balance the global figures.
Three countries stood out as the main _____ of European growth: France, the United Kingdom, and Germany.
China remains the world's biggest producer of electric cars, and Chinese _____ continue to sell large numbers of vehicles at low prices.
Tesla, the American car maker, is described as the only non-Chinese company still able to _____ seriously with Chinese electric car brands.
European car manufacturers, meanwhile, appear to be struggling to match the pace set by Tesla and Chinese _____.
The data suggests that while Europe is currently helping to drive global growth, the region's own car industry is not among the _____ in production or technology.
_____ say this creates a mixed picture: European consumers are buying more electric cars, but many come from Chinese or American companies.