According to the latest edition of the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) annual Global EV Outlook More than one in five Electric car sold worldwide this year is expected to be electric, with demand projected to surge over the next decade,
The latest edition finds that global electric car sales are set to reach around 17 million by the end of the year. In the first quarter, sales grew about 25% compared with the same period in 2023 – similar to the growth rate seen in the same period a year earlier, but from a larger base. The number of electric cars sold globally in the first three months of this year is roughly equivalent to the number sold in all of 2020, the report says.
In 2024, electric car sales in China are projected to hit 10 million, accounting for about 45% of all car sales in the country. In the United States, roughly one in nine cars sold are projected to be electric – while in Europe, despite a “generally weak” outlook for passenger car sales and the phase-out of subsidies in some countries, electric cars are still set to represent about one in four cars sold.
Last year, global electric car sales soared by 35% to almost 14 million. While demand remained largely concentrated in China, Europe, and the United States, growth also picked up in some emerging markets such as Vietnam and Thailand, where electric cars accounted for 15% and 10%, respectively, of all cars sold.
In China, more than 60% of electric cars sold in 2023 were already less expensive to buy than their conventional equivalents. However, in Europe and the United States, the purchase prices for cars with internal combustion engines remained cheaper on average, though intensifying market competition and improving battery technologies are expected to reduce prices in the coming years, IEA said.
