European car sales rise - Tesla is racing

A total of 865,437 new cars were registered in February. Electric and hybrid cars took an increasing market share while sales of gasoline and diesel cars fell.

Tesla's car sales surged 29 percent in February compared with the same month last year. The brand now accounts for 1.6 percent of the market.

New registrations of Volvo Cars plunged 12 percent. The automaker accounted for 2 percent of the market in February.

During the period January–February, electric cars accounted for 18.8 percent, gasoline and diesel cars for 30.6 percent, and regular hybrid cars for 38.7 percent. The remaining 11.9 percent is accounted for by plug-in hybrids and others.