Chinese carmakers have gained ground in Europe’s shift to electric cars, emerging as the biggest winners in plug-in hybrids despite moves by Brussels to curb their expansion. As petrol prices climbed across the EU, hitting a record high of more than €2.30 a litre (US$9.91 a US gallon) in Germany this month, the move to battery power gathered pace. Battery-electric registrations jumped 62.7 per cent year on year in August and accounted for 21.7 per cent of new registrations in the first eight...