Global EV Outlook 2018
- The global stock of electric passenger cars reached 3.1 million in 2017 (Figure 2.1) an increase of 57% from the previous year. 1 This is similar to the growth rate of 60% 2015 and 2016.
- There were more than 3 million electric passenger cars on the road worldwide in 2017, 40% of which were in People’s Republic of China (“China”).
- In 2017, global sales of electric cars crossed the threshold of 1 million units (1.1 million). In 2016 the rate of sales growth slowed compared with 2015, but sales picked up in 2017, registering a year-onyear increase of 54% (compared with 38% in 2016).
- China has the world’s largest electric car market and nearly 580 000 electric cars were sold there in 2017, up 72% from the year before (Figure 2.2). China accounts for half of the global electric car market.4
- China has the highest sales volume of electric cars globally, followed by the United States. Norway is the world leader in market share terms.
- The uptake of electric vehicles is still largely driven by the policy environment. The ten leading countries in electric vehicle adoption all have a range of policies in place to promote the uptake of electric cars.
- In 2017, China, the European Union and India, which together account for roughly 60% of the global LDV market, proposed or implemented significant policy changes that are likely to accelerate the phase-in of electric cars and shape their deployment on a global scale. On the other hand, recent announcements on the roll-back of federal regulations on the fuel economy of cars in the United States are expected to have a negative impact on the uptake of electric cars
- By now nearly all major OEMs have expressed an ambition or plan related to the development of electric cars (Table 2.5). The number and high ambition of these announcements indicate a strong industry commitment to invest in electric mobility and to scale up efforts to advance EV technology in the coming years. An analysis of the implications of this for future electric car uptake is provided in Chapter 6 (Figure 6.2).
