Flagship report
Net Zero by 2050
A Roadmap for the Global Energy Sector
Electric vehicles
With over 2% of global car sales, the electric car fleet is expanding quickly. Ambitious policy announcements have been critical in stimulating the electric mobility transition in major vehicle markets.
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Policies have major influences on the development of electric mobility. Policy approaches to promote the deployment of EVs typically start with a vision statement and a set of targets. An initial step is the adoption of electric vehicle and charging standards.
Economic incentives and regulatory measures are often coupled with other policies that increase the value proposition of EVs. Such policies often aim to harness the multiple co-benefits arising from greater electrification of transport, most prominently energy diversification in a sector that is 90% dependent on oil products and the reduction of local pollutant and GHG emissions. Measures that provide crucial incentives to scale up the availability of vehicles with low and zero tailpipe emissions include fuel economy standards, zero-emission vehicle mandates and the rise in the ambition of public procurement programmes.
Regulatory measures related to charging infrastructure include minimum requirements to ensure "EV readiness" in new or refurbished buildings and parking lots, deployment of publicly accessible chargers in cities and on highway networks, and are complemented by requirements regarding inter-operability and minimum availability levels for publicly accessible charging infrastructure.
Economic incentives and regulatory measures are often coupled with other policies that increase the value proposition of EVs. Such policies often aim to harness the multiple co-benefits arising from greater electrification of transport, most prominently energy diversification in a sector that is 90% dependent on oil products and the reduction of local pollutant and GHG emissions. Measures that provide crucial incentives to scale up the availability of vehicles with low and zero tailpipe emissions include fuel economy standards, zero-emission vehicle mandates and the rise in the ambition of public procurement programmes.
Regulatory measures related to charging infrastructure include minimum requirements to ensure "EV readiness" in new or refurbished buildings and parking lots, deployment of publicly accessible chargers in cities and on highway networks, and are complemented by requirements regarding inter-operability and minimum availability levels for publicly accessible charging infrastructure.
Last updated Aug 23, 2021
Key findings
Global electric passenger car stock, 2010-2020
OpenElectric cars had a record year in 2020, with Europe overtaking China as the biggest market
After a decade of rapid growth, in 2020 the global electric car stock hit the 10 million mark, a 43% increase over 2019. Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) accounted for two-thirds of new electric car registrations and two-thirds of the stock in 2020. China, with 4.5 million electric cars, has the largest fleet, though in 2020 Europe had the largest annual increase to reach 3.2 million.
Stock of fast public electric light duty vehicles chargers, 2015-2020
OpenInstallation of publicly accessible chargers expanded sevenfold in the last five years
While most charging of EVs is done at home and work, roll-out of publicly accessible charging will be critical as countries leading in EV deployment enter a stage where simpler and improved autonomy will be demanded by EV owners. Publicly accessible chargers reached 1.3 million units in 2020, of which 30% are fast chargers. Installation of publicly accessible chargers was up 45%, a slower pace than the 85% in 2019, likely because work was interrupted in key markets due to the pandemic. China leads the world in availability of both slow and fast publicly accessible chargers.
Analysis
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EV City Casebook and Policy Guide 2021 Edition
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Events
29 Apr 2021
Global Electric Vehicles Outlook 2021
11 Mar 2021 15:00—16:00
EV Cities Casebook and Policy Guide
22 Jun 2020 12:00—13:00
Introduction to Global EV Outlook 2020
15 Jun 2020
Global EV Outlook 2020
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Our work
In operation since 1993, the HEV TCP provides a forum for global co-operation on the development and deployment of electric vehicles. It supplies objective information to support decision making, functions as a facilitator for international collaboration in pre-competitive research and demonstration projects, fosters international exchange of information, and it can promote projects and programmes for research, development, demonstration and deployment.
