Electric vehicles will corner seven per cent of total vehicle market by 2030 as climate regulation abounds and automakers expand their electric ranges, according to IEA
Sales of electric cars soared to record levels in 2020, with three million electric cars registered around the world during an otherwise wretched year for the automotive market, according to an analysis from the International Energy Agency (IEA).
A major report into the electric vehicle market published this morning by the agency has underscored how rapidly the electric vehicle (EV) market is accelerating, noting the number of electric cars registered around the world grew by 41 per cent in 2020 compared to the year prior.
This dramatic ramp up in sales came amid a broader market slump caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, which saw the global automotive market shrink by 16 per cent.
Momentum behind electric cars has continued to build in recent months, with the IEA analysis revealing that sales in the first quarter of this year were 2.5 times larger than the same period in 2020.
The IEA predicts the number of electric cars, vans, trucks and buses could increase 13-fold from 11 million vehicles today to 145 million by the end of the decade. In this scenario, electric vehicles (EVs) would account for roughly seven per cent of the road vehicle fleet.
And it claims the EV market could grow even faster and hit 230 million vehicles by 2030 if governments accelerate their efforts to reach climate goals by enacting effective low carbon transport policies and investment programmes.
As such, IEA executive director Fatih Birol called on global leaders to deliver policy programmes that catalyse the roll out of EVs and charging infrastructure.
"Current sales trends are very encouraging, but our shared climate and energy goals call for even faster market uptake [of EVs]," he said. "Governments should now be doing the essential groundwork to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles by using economic recovery packages to invest in battery manufacturing and the development of widespread and reliable charging infrastructure.''
The report notes that sales are increasingly being driven by consumer choice rather than government subsidies, noting that government support measures for electric cars as a total share of state spending continued declined in 2020 for the fifth year running. While government support measures stood at $14bn last year, consumer spending on EVs increased by 50 per cent on 2019 levels to $120bn, it notes.
Elsewhere, the report flags the number of electric car models available to consumers is growing rapidly. Customers could choose from 370 different models in 2020, a 40 per cent increase from 2019, and this number is set to snowball as more companies enter the market and expand their electric ranges.
Eighteen of the 20 largest automakers in the world have now announced plans to grow their zero emission light-duty vehicle lines, according to the IEA.
General Motors, VW , Ford, Porsche, and Volvo are among the major carmakers that have announced plans over the last two months to significantly expand their EV businesses.