Across the first three quarters of this year, Latvians have bought and registered 328% more electric vehicles than they did across the same period in 2019. LETA reports that this is the fastest growth in EV sales in the EU. [Read: Why this security engineer loves working in infosec] Over the first three quarters, 287 electric vehicles were registered in the country. 229 of these were battery electric vehicles and 58 were plug-in hybrids. While the overall volumes might not compare to bigger car buying nations like the UK or Germany, the growth in EV uptake should still be considered as a positive. Last year, across the first nine months of the year, there were just 67 EVs registered. Latvia isn’t alone in experiencing heady growth in EV sales. Slovakia, Czech Republic, and Estonia all saw three-figure growth in EV registrations, posting growth of 316.5%, 245.5%, and 208.5% respectively. It seems that Baltic nations are quite receptive of new low-emission transport tech. Earlier this year, Lithuania began paying citizens to trade in their old cars and exchange them for subsidy checks that can be used for public transport tickets, escooters, or ebikes. SHIFT is brought to you by Polestar. It’s time to accelerate the shift to sustainable mobility. That is why Polestar combines electric driving with cutting-edge design and thrilling performance. Find out how.
