Pure electric vehicles outsold combined gasoline and diesel vehicle sales in August across 31 major European countries, marking the first such monthly result in the European market. The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, or ACEA, said 243,207 electric vehicles were newly registered, up 52.2% from a year earlier, while internal combustion engine vehicles fell 23.4% to 202,931. Electric vehicles accounted for 29.2% of new-car sales, compared with 24.4% for gasoline and diesel vehicles. Analysts linked the shift to higher energy costs associated with Middle East instability, government purchase incentives and aggressive pricing by Chinese manufacturers such as BYD. Germany introduced retroactive subsidies of up to 6,000 euros for electric vehicles starting this year, alongside purchase and lease support, while the UK has offered subsidies of up to 10% since July last year for electric vehicles priced below 37,000 pounds. Despite the August lead, internal combustion engine vehicles remained ahead on a cumulative January-August basis, with 2,558,782 units versus 2,133,364 electric vehicles. Hybrid vehicles led all categories with 3,334,039 sales.