France: battery electric vehicle fleet 2011-2023

Nearly 595,800 battery electric vehicles were part of the French private car fleet in 2023, a year-over-year increase of around 47.7 percent compared to 2022. The BEV fleet in France has been steadily growing since 2011 and exceeds the French plug-in hybrid electric vehicle fleet, which was nearly 424,300 in 2023.

Governmental efforts to boost the French EV market

The growing battery-electric vehicle market in France contributes to this increase in fleet size, with around 328,500 BEV sales recorded in the country in 2023. French brands topped the rankings two years earlier, with Renault and Peugeot as the first and third best-selling BEV brands in France. In an effort to bolster this traction, France offered nearly 7,800 euros in EV purchase incentives as of the first quarter of 2023, including 2,773 euros in purchase tax reduction.

Regional disparities

In 2023, the Île-de-France region was the largest regional market for zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs), including BEVs and hydrogen vehicles. Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur ranked second and third with over 78,300 and 62,800 ZEVs in circulation, respectively, while Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur being the seventh French region with the largest vehicle fleet across propulsion type. Île-de-France, where Paris is located, was also the region with the most extensive public electric vehicle charging station network. However, while interest in EVs in the French capital city led to Île-de-France topping these rankings, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes reported the highest total capacity at public chargers, at nearly 569,000 kilowatts.