According to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) during the first three months of this year, the biggest market for passenger plug-in cars in Europe was Norway, closely followed by Germany.

The sales data for April, compiled by the industry analyst Matthias Schmidt (schmidtmatthias.de) indicates a change in the first position and now the highest number of new plug-in car registrations in noted in Germany.

Norway, however, remains the top market for all-electric cars - not for long we believe as the huge German market is also experiencing big growth for BEVs.

Here are the numbers for the first four months of the year:

• Germany - over 30,000

• Norway - less than 30,000

• France - less than 20,000

• UK - around 18,000

• Netherlands - about 12,500

• Sweden - about 12,500