The use of electric cars is gaining momentum as consumers gravitate towards less polluting vehicles and cities impose regulations on fossil-fuelled cars. In Belgium, the Audi e-tron has been so popular that the model has already sold out, although an upgraded model will be on the market by the end of the year, reports De Tijd.
"Pending the facelift of the Audi e-tron, the current model is no longer available," according to Audi's Belgian website.
"The e-tron is a car that sells well," explained Audi Brussels spokesman Peter D'hoore. "And at the end of this year, those who want to buy the e-tron will have to order that upgrade."
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Each country is allocated a certain number of e-trons for sale, but the car has proved popular beyond expectations in the Belgian market.
According to car importer D'Ieteren, the model hasn't sold out in Germany and no other Audi website in Europe reports that the model has sold out. It is unclear when exactly the upgraded model will be available in Belgium.
A global trend
The sale of electric cars hit 6.6 million in 2022, tripling the global market of two years previous, according to the International Energy Agency.
In Europe, the agency reported that electric car sales increased by nearly 70% in 2021 to 2.3 million. Half of these were plug-in hybrids. Germany has the largest electric car market, though also has the largest population in the EU. More than one in three new cars sold in Germany between November and December was electric.
Electric cars help avoid oil consumption and decrease CO2 emissions, but in 2021 these benefits were reduced by the increase in sales of SUVs.
MEPs are aligning to end the use of diesel cars in the EU and have voted to end the sale of combustion engine cars by 2035.
