Posted on 27 Apr 2023
Global sales of electric cars are expected to surge to hit another record this year, expanding their share of the world's overall car market to near one-fifth and leading a major transformation of the auto industry that has implications for the energy sector, especially oil, Mysteel Global learned from the latest global electric vehicle (EV) outlook released by International Energy Agency (IEA).
Specifically, global sales of EVs are expected to grow by another 35% this year to reach 14 million, after more than 10 million electric cars were sold worldwide in 2022, according to the report.
This explosive growth means EVs' share of the overall car market has risen from around 4% in 2020 to 14% in 2022 and is set to increase further to 18% this year, based on the latest IEA projections.
"Electric vehicles are one of the driving forces in the new global energy economy that is rapidly emerging -- and they are bringing about a historic transformation of the car manufacturing industry worldwide," IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol was quoted as saying in the report.
Birol also noted that "the trends we are witnessing have significant implications for global oil demand. The internal combustion engine has gone unrivalled for over a century, but EVs are changing the status quo. By 2030, they will avoid the need for at least 5 million barrels a day of oil. Cars are just the first wave: electric buses and trucks will follow soon."
The majority of electric car sales to date is mainly concentrated in three markets -- China, Europe and the U.S., according to the IEA report.
China is the frontrunner, with 60% of global electric car sales taking place there in 2022. Notably, more than half of all electric cars on the road worldwide today are in China. Europe and the U.S., as the second- and third-largest markets, both saw strong growth with sales increasing 15% and 55% respectively in 2022.
Moreover, the average share of electric cars in total sales across these three markets is set to rise to around 60% by 2030, due to a wide range of ambitious policy programmes in major economies, IEA projects.
The encouraging trends are also having positive knock-on effects for battery production and supply chains. The new report highlights that announced battery manufacturing projects would be more than enough to meet demand for EVs to 2030 in the IEA's net zero emissions by 2050 scenario.
Source:Mysteel Global
