Electric vehicles (EVs) are no longer a niche business. They now account for 16 percent of new-car sales in Europe, up from under 1 percent in 2019. Despite the removal of purchase subsidies in certain markets, such as Germany at the end of 2023, sales have remained stable. Since the beginning of 2024, more than 875,000 new full battery electric vehicles (BEVs) have been sold across the continent. 

As EV growth continues to unfold in Europe, automakers are developing more nuanced profiles of the average EV buyers they are targeting. Some buyers are innovators, or early adopters, who opted for EVs years ago and are now on their second or third purchase. Although this segment remains important, the EV customer base is also expanding to include more mainstream customers who have different expectations for EVs. 

To understand European consumers’ views on EVs and key market trends, we recently polled 15,034 individuals in France, Germany, Italy, and Norway as part of our regular McKinsey Mobility Consumer Pulse Survey, which closely monitors consumer perceptions about the future of mobility in general (see sidebar, “About the survey,” for more on our methodology). We combined insights from the survey with mobility research to analyze EV uptake patterns, identify major consumer concerns, explore perceptions of incumbents and new entrants, and investigate the used-EV market.