Richard Branson says in 15 years 'every car on the road will be electric'
"In 2015, electric cars accounted for just 0.1 per cent of the total number of cars on the road across the world, according to the International Energy Agency.
However, the Electric Vehicles Initiative has set a goal of putting 20 million electric cars on the road by 2020 – which would give a global market share of around 1.7 per cent.
Earlier this year, a report by Bloomberg said electric cars will be cheaper than conventional ones by 2022, with the declining cost in batteries a major factor in pushing prices down.
It projected that sales of electric cars will hit 41 million, or a third of the market by 2040 – almost 90 times the equivalent figure for 2015.
The growth of the electric cars could also have a dramatic effect on oil, according to the report, by displacing oil demand of 2 million barrels a day as early as 2023.
Sir Richard has suggested government policy could enable the growth in electric cars. “If governments set the ground rules,” he said, “and for instance said, ‘more than 50 per cent of cars must be battery-driven in 10 years and 100 per cent in 15 years,’ we could make that happen.”
"In 2015, electric cars accounted for just 0.1 per cent of the total number of cars on the road across the world, according to the International Energy Agency.
However, the Electric Vehicles Initiative has set a goal of putting 20 million electric cars on the road by 2020 – which would give a global market share of around 1.7 per cent.
Earlier this year, a report by Bloomberg said electric cars will be cheaper than conventional ones by 2022, with the declining cost in batteries a major factor in pushing prices down.
It projected that sales of electric cars will hit 41 million, or a third of the market by 2040 – almost 90 times the equivalent figure for 2015.
The growth of the electric cars could also have a dramatic effect on oil, according to the report, by displacing oil demand of 2 million barrels a day as early as 2023.
Sir Richard has suggested government policy could enable the growth in electric cars. “If governments set the ground rules,” he said, “and for instance said, ‘more than 50 per cent of cars must be battery-driven in 10 years and 100 per cent in 15 years,’ we could make that happen.”