Electric vehicles reach a record two million cars in 2016

Two million electrically powered vehicles were on roads worldwide at the end of 2016, according to the latest figures from the International Energy Agency (IEA).

The number is a huge jump from the small number of electric vehicles (EVs) on the market just five years ago. China remained the largest market for EVs in 2016, accounting for 40% of global EV sales, according to the IEA’s Global EV Outlook report – which tracks pure electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids and fuel cell cars. China also has more than 200mn two-wheeled electric vehicles and over 300,000 electric buses, according to the IEA. China, the US and Europe are the three main markets for EVs, representing 90% of all EVs sold around the world.

Norway is streets ahead in terms of EVs’ share in a country’s total car market – with 29% of cars sold last year being electric. This is followed by the Netherlands with 6.4% and Sweden with 3.4%. 

The IEA predicts that between 9mn and 20mn electric cars could be deployed by 2020, and between 40mn and 70mn by 2025. Its figures are based on an amalgamation of national-level data from governments in the Electric Vehicle Initiative (EVI).

Despite the impressive-sounding numbers, EVs only made up 0.2% of total passenger light-duty vehicles in circulation in 2016. The IEA says that they ‘have a long way to go before reaching numbers capable of making a significant contribution to greenhouse gas emission reduction targets’. In order to keep temperature increases to below 2°C by the end of the century, the IEA estimates that EV numbers will need to reach 200mn by 2030 (see above).

The analysis shows that cities are taking the lead to encourage EV adoption due to air quality concerns. Initiatives such as free charging in Paris, charge points on public parking spaces in Amsterdam and exemptions from congestion charging in London are boosting sales.

Fleet owners are also influential for EV sales, says the report, with fleet EV procurers signalling demand and then amplifying and facilitating the uptake of EVs by staff and customers. 

The IEA advocates clear and ambitious policy support to keep the growth of EVs on track to meet climate goals. It says that financial incentives for EV adoption and taxes on fossil fuels will continue to be important to further support cost reductions for batteries and other components.