Zooming into the future, Electric Vehicles (EVs) are set to hit a whopping 15.5% of all auto sales this year, as reported by the cool folks at BNEF. The EV landscape is charged up, boasting almost 41 million stylish passenger EVs cruising the roads, and guess what? China leads the global fleet, owning a massive quarter of the EV scene.
Now, what powers these sleek rides? Batteries, baby! And they’re getting more abundant and wallet-friendly. The manufacturing of lithium-ion batteries, the real MVPs behind EVs, revved up by over 30% this year. Even better, prices, which took a slight detour last year, are back on track for a decline in 2023—the steepest drop since 2018.
The EV party is sizzling, thanks to governments shaking things up. The European Union and the UK laid down the law in 2023, demanding that all new passenger vehicles sold must be zero-emission by 2035. The US is grooving to the same beat, with multiple states jumping on the EV train, fueled by the Inflation Reduction Act serving a feast of tax credits.
The crystal ball for China’s electric car market remains a bit foggy, playing a game of will-they-or-won’t-they stay above the 20% target in 2023. The plot thickens as sales took a rollercoaster ride, dropping in January, only to pick up speed in February and March. January’s dip was not only a result of the Chinese New Year vibes but also danced close to being 10% lower than the electrifying sales of January 2022. Fast forward to February and March 2023, the sales staged a grand comeback, flaunting a nearly 60% surge above the February 2022 levels and more than 25% strut above the March 2022 rhythm. The first quarter of 2023 turned out to be a banger, outperforming its 2022 counterpart by over 20%.
Shifting gears to Europe, the electric car arena saw a breezy 15% uptick in 2022, reaching a cool 2.7 million in sales. The tempo was slightly off compared to its previous dance moves, with growth hitting a groovy 65% in 2021 and maintaining a swanky 40% average between 2017-2019. Breaking it down, BEV sales did the electric slide with a 30% boost compared to 2021, while PHEV sales tapped their brakes, marking a 3% dip. Europe brought its A-game, contributing 10% to the global growth in new electric car sales. Despite the slightly chilled vibes in 2022, Europe’s electric car scene is still sizzling in the face of an overall car market that chilled by 3% in 2022 compared to the groovy beats of 2021.
But hey, not every pit stop is a breeze for EVs. Sales hit a speed bump between 2022 and 2023, with some carmakers easing off the accelerator for models like the Ford F-150 Lightning. The charging station situation? Let’s just say it’s not sparking joy in most places, emerging as a top hurdle to widespread EV love. While the wheels are spinning fast and road emissions are still revving up, EVs need to hit the gas to truly make an impact on Mother Earth. Yet, the EV journey so far is a rad tale of a green tech becoming the cool kid on the block. Here’s to 2024—may it be all gas, no brakes on the EV revolution!
