International Energy Agency report charts global growth of EVs
A new report from the International Energy Agency (IAE) said that by 2030, almost one in three cars on the road in China and one in five in both the United States and European Union will be electric.
IAEʻs annual Global EV Outlook also stated that this year, one in five cars sold worldwide will be electric, with a projected 17 million sold by the end of the year, globally. That would be up from last year when global electric car sales soared by 35 percent to almost 14 million. While demand remained largely concentrated in China, Europe and the United States, there was significant growth in emerging markets such as Vietnam and Thailand.
In the first quarter of 2024, according to the report, sales grew by about 25 percent compared to the same period in 2023. Further, the number of electric cars sold globally in the first three months of this year is roughly equivalent to the number sold in all of 2020.
Electric car sales in China are projected to leap to about 10 million in 2024, accounting for about 45 percent of all car sales in the country. In the United States, roughly one in nine cars sold are projected to be electric – while in Europe, electric cars are still set to represent about one in four cars sold.
“The continued momentum behind electric cars is clear in our data, although it is stronger in some markets than others,” IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said. “Rather than tapering off, the global EV revolution appears to be gearing up for a new phase of growth. The wave of investment in battery manufacturing suggests the EV supply chain is advancing to meet automakers’ ambitious plans for expansion. As a result, the share of EVs on the roads is expected to continue to climb rapidly. Based on today’s policy settings alone, almost one in three cars on the roads in China by 2030 is set to be electric, and almost one in five in both the United States and European Union. This shift will have major ramifications for both the auto industry and the energy sector.”
In the years to come, substantial investments in the electric vehicle supply chain, ongoing policy support, and declines in the price of EVs and their batteries are expected to produce even more significant changes. As a result, IAE estimates that by 2035, every other car sold globally is set to be electric and that could increase to two in three cars sold if certain policy goals are met.
The report notes that the availability of public charging is crucial for continued growth of EVs. In 2023, the number of public charging points installed globally was up 40 percent from 2022, and growth for fast chargers outpaced that of slower ones. However, the IAE outlook said that charging networks will need to grow sixfold by 2035 to meet the above stated goals.
