About 130 000 electric cars are being sold each week across the world, about the same number as were sold in all of 2012.
According to International Energy Agency (IEA) in its latest commentary written by Clean Energy Technologies Analyst, Leonardo Paoli, and the Head of IEA Energy Technology Policy Division, Timur Gül, “Growth has been particularly impressive over the last three years, even as the pandemic shrank the global market for conventional cars and as manufacturers started grappling with supply chain bottlenecks.”
The commentary noted that “In 2019, 2.2 million electric cars were sold, representing just 2.5 per cent of global car sales.
“In 2021, electric car sales more than doubled from the previous year to 6.6 million, representing close to nine per cent of the market.
“China accounts for more than half of all electric cars sold, but there’s also strong growth in Europe and the United States.”
The IEA estimated that there are now around 16 million electric cars on the road worldwide, consuming roughly 30 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity per year, the equivalent of all the electricity generated in Ireland.
“Electric cars helped avoid oil consumption and CO2 emissions in 2021, although these benefits were cancelled out by the parallel increase in the sales of SUVs.
“Electric car sales generally tend to be higher later in the year. In 2021, December sales were more than two and half times as high as sales in January in the top three markets.
IN CASE YOU MISSED THESE FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
- ‘Officials initially offered to help but when the number of able-bodied citizens at the centre increased, they left us unattended to’
- Why Ogun Tops List Of ‘Yahoo Boys’ In Nigeria ― Governor Abiodun
- Police, Amotekun after criminals on Lagos-Ibadan expressway
- Suspected cannibal pays N500,000 for boy’s human organs, says ‘that’s my favourite meal, especially the throat’
- Court awards Nnamdi Kanu N1 billion over invasion of his home by military, asks FG to apologise
“Still, over the course of 2021, monthly electric car sales were consistently at least 50 per cent higher than the corresponding month in 2020.”
The commentary however noted that in contrast, the market for electric cars is barely growing in Brazil, India, Indonesia and Japan.
“The future looks bright for electric vehicles, but there are warning signals coming from supply chains, with bulk material prices increasing and many microchips in short supply,” the commentary added.
According to the IEA, government policies remain the key driving force for global electric car markets, but their dynamism in 2021 also reflects a very active year on the part of the automotive industry.
Over the course of 2020 and 2021, many governments set targets to phase out sales of internal combustion engine cars within the next two decades, as did several car manufacturers.
Electric vehicles have become the road transport technology of choice for many governments and the automotive industry.
The US government announced in November 2021 an ambitious 50 per cent electrification target for new cars by 2030, supported by the announcement of the installation of 500 000 charging points to help increase consumer confidence.
In Europe, the EU Commission proposed to bring the CO2 emission standard for new cars to zero by 2035.
At the same time, several automakers announced electrification targets. For example, Volkswagen said that half of its sales would be electric by 2030.
It said the global top five automaker electric car sales by region in 2021 are Tesla, Volkswagen Group, BYD, General Motors and Stellantis.
The IEA added that it will continue to support governments to better understand and assess policy options for road transport electrification and provide independent analysis on the topic, including in the upcoming Global Electric Vehicle Outlook.
and then