A new report predicts that within the next two years, the penetration of electric cars on the European auto market is likely to reach a point of no return as zero emissions vehicles become the mainstream item for consumers.

A new report from NGO T&E predicts production of electric vehicles in Europe will surge six-fold from around 750,000 in 2019 to more than million by 2025. It sees a 60/40 split between battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) and more than 330 different models available.

In certain parts of Europe – most notably Norway, where more than 50% of new car sales are electric – EVs are becoming a common sight on roads, but overall it is still regarded as an early adopter market.

But new rules for EU carmakers – setting a mandatory CO2 target of 95g/km, and carbon emissions reduction targets set by the EU that will require CO2 from all new cars to be lowered 15% by 2025, and 37.5% by 2030 compared to 2021 levels – mean that the shift to EV production is inevitable.

It has been previously estimated by Transport and Environment (T&E) that to reach the new 2020/21 CO2 targets, carmakers will need to achieve a 7% market share of plug-in electric vehicles.

The new report, indicates that with a rush of new PHEV and BEV offerings planned by automakers in Europe, by 2021 this figure will be more like 10%.

Read more: The Driven