Global sales of EVs cross 750,000 units in 2016

Registration of new electric vehicles hit a new record in 2016, with over 750,000 EVs sold worldwide. Norway retained its leadership in terms of deployment of EVs with a market share of 29 percent. This was followed by Netherlands with 6.4 percent and Sweden with 3.4 percent, as per a report released by International Energy Agency (IEA).

 Sales of EVs in China came at 3,36,000 new electric cars in 2016, accounting for 40 percent of global sales - double the sales recorded in USA (1,60,000 units). As per estimates, the global stock of electric vehicles surpassed 2 million vehicles in 2016. The one million mark was achieved in 2015.

 The fastest adoption of EVs was seen in China, with the country even overtaking the US with the largest electric car stock – 1/3 of the global inventory. With over 200 million electric two-wheelers, 3-4 million low-speed electric vehicles (LSEVs) and more than 3,00,000 electric vehicles, at present, China leads in terms of electrification of transport modes.

With an increase in EVs, the public and private charging infrastructure have also grown at a rate of 72 percent and 60 percent, respectively.

Annual Growth

Despite continuous growth in electric vehicle stock, electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) deployment and electric vehicle sales in the last five years, annual growth rates have been on a decline. In 2016, the electric car stock growth was at 60 percent, down from 77 percent in 2015 and 85 percent in 2014. Since 2010, this is the first time electric car sales growth has seen a decline of over 50 percent.

 The global electric vehicle stock currently corresponds to 0.2 percent of the total number of passenger light-duty vehicles (PLDVs) in circulation.

Research, development and deployment (RD&D), along with mass production prospects, have led to a decrease in the cost of batteries and improvement in energy densities. With signs of continuous improvements in technology, the research suggests this trend will continue, further narrowing the cost difference between EVs and internal combustion engines (ICEs). Electric vehicle stock is expected to be in the range of 9-20 million by 2020 and 40-70 million by 2025.

 Risks and Challenges

The IEA report emphasised on support from the central, state and local governments as that would not only influence but also help in faster adoption of EVs.

Setting up of charging stations will be one of the key challenges for cities mitigating towards EV adoption. The impact of additional consumption on power grids and the risk of increased costs on consumers might have a negative feedback on transport electrification process.

Electric Vehicle Initiative

The Electric Vehicle Initiative (EVI), the multi-government policy forum was established in 2009 under the Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM), with a view to accelerate the deployment of EVs worldwide (CEM, 2017).

As of May 2017, the EVI constitutes of ten members (Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, the UK, and the US). With China and USA currently co-leading the CVI, India and Korea are also engaged in EVI’s activities and, in 2017, have shared their national data on road-transport electrification.

The EV30@30 campaign, launched at the Eight Clean Energy Ministerial this year, has set an ambitious goal for EVI members of holding a 30 percent market share of EVs in all segments including passenger cars, light commercial vehicles, buses and trucks, by 2030.

Policy suggestions

Access allowances in urban areas for vehicles that meet certain emission standards is a policy that's already in place in many European cities, and other road space rationing measures such as alternate-day travel based on license plate numbers. Exemptions from tolls and usage fees, dedicated parking and access to publicly available charging infrastructure are some of the other key suggestions pointed by the report.

 Future Outlook

In 2015, EVs costs were higher than those of ICEs across all regions. By 2030, battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) are expected to be ICEs in Europe.