Electric cars are an important part of the energy transition. They are becoming increasingly popular, with international trade in hybrid (both plug-in and non-plug-in) and full electric cars on the rise. In 2021, the EU spent €11.8 billion on imports of non-plug-in hybrid cars (41% of total extra-EU imports of hybrid and electric cars), €11.4 billion on full electric cars (39%) and €5.9 billion on plug-in hybrid cars (20%). For all three categories of cars, the value for imports was less than the corresponding value for exports from the EU. Exports of non-plug-in hybrid cars were valued at €22.9 billion, which was more than half of the total extra-EU exports of hybrid and electric cars (55%), full electric cars at €12.3 billion (29%) and plug-in hybrid cars at €6.8 billion (16%). (....)