File photo: VCG

China is on its way to become the biggest market for electric vehicles (EVs) again by the end of the year, according to a market assessment published by the German Center for Automotive Research (CAR) on Monday.

Sales of electrified cars in the first half of the year were slightly higher in Europe but the "(Elon) Musk factor" would support the development of the Chinese market which would not give up its leading position in the electric car market for the next 50 years, according to the CAR forecasts.

In total, almost 400,000 fully electric cars and plug-in hybrids were sold in Europe in the first half of the year. In China, only 7,200 fewer electrified vehicles were sold in the same period, according to CAR.

China made a "great leap" in all-electric vehicles with Tesla. According to CAR, the Tesla Shanghai gigafactory contributed the sales of almost 50,000 fully electric cars in China in the first half of the year.

Thanks to high purchase premiums for electric cars in many European countries, sales of all-electric (BEV) and partially electric (plug-in hybrid) vehicles in Europe "picked up significantly," the CAR noted.

China and Europe were "decisive for the global breakthrough of electric mobility," said Ferdinant Dudenhoefer, director of the CAR in a statement, noting that the two regions were "significantly supporting emission-neutral mobility."

The director told Xinhua that 1.2 million EVs were sold in China in 2019, the most in the world.

In terms of sales of all-electric vehicles in the first half of the year, China was already a market leader while more plug-in hybrid cars were sold in Europe, according to the CAR.