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EU Electric-Car Sale Growth Sputters on Battery, Charging Limits

  • First-half deliveries rose 33% versus 54% surge a year earlier
  • Diesel slump sees carmakers risking fines on missing CO2 limit
Photographer: Lisi Niesner/Bloomberg
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Sales growth of electric and plug-in hybrid cars has dimmed across the European Union’s major markets during the first half of this year because of limited driving ranges and a patchy charging network.

Registrations of electric cars rose 33 percent in the six months through June, compared to a 54 percent surge a year earlier, consultancy EY said Tuesday. Strong demand in Germany, the EU’s biggest auto market, wasn’t enough to offset meeker growth in the U.K., the second largest.