Incentives will be responsible for much of this growth, as well as tougher emissions laws. Mild and micro hybrids are also expected to see a surge in numbers, with sales reaching 275,000 by 2018, up from 11,468 in 2015.
The big kick behind PHEV sales are incentives, in the Netherlands for example savings could amount to €7,000 a year. Last year, 37,048 plug-in hybrids were sold in the country.
The top selling PHEV in Europe continues to be the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, followed by the VW Golf GTE and the Audi A3 e-tron. The biggest market for petrol-powered hybrids was the UK, where both corporate and private sector drivers can get both purchase subsidies and tax credits.