Worldwide analysis of Electric Vehicle use and its adoption

From inventing the very-first wheel to developing the fuel-powered vehicles, mankind has done an immense amount of elbow grease to ease the way we travel from one place to another.

But now the tides are turning! What we see is an entirely new breed of vehicles being pushed into the ever-changing automobile industry. The fuel-powered engines, being symbolized for power and speed, are slowly being called off in the face of environmental emergency. 

This doesn’t mean we are bound to travel less. In fact, it turned out to be an opportunity to bring up a clean and efficient means of transport. This is where Electric vehicles come into the picture. 

The Future is Electric!

With a widespread awareness about climate change, and with the collaborative efforts of Government and private firms, an ample amount of increment is being observed in the adoption behavior for electric vehicles across the world. 

Be it in terms of efficiency, features, battery life or charging infrastructure, the EV segment is witnessing a rapid and large-scale development across automobile industries in the world. 

Let’s learn about some figures of EV pertaining to the Indian market: In 2018-19, a total of 130,000 Electric vehicles were sold in India. Approximately 3,400 units have been sold in FY 2020. What’s even more interesting is that the major share in the number of EVs sold was of electric scooters and electric cycles. 

Worldwide Electric Vehicles Sale by company & models

What’s holding us back from Going Green and its adoption?

The EVs are the next big thing, and India has the potential to become the largest EV market in the world. However, the biggest challenge that is limiting many from choosing electric cars over fuel-ones is the lack of charging infrastructures. 

As of today, the EV statistics in India stands at just 1%. Still, there is a hope to see a large-scale improvement in certain segments that for sure will create a positive impact in the Indian market. For example, Mahindra and Mahindra plans to electrify their entire range of traditional cars. To achieve this goal, they will be investing 18 billion in the next three years for EV production. 

The Indian Government has been vocal about its plans for Electric Vehicles adoption. To encourage people to buy EVs, the government has reduced GST on electric vehicles to 5%. 

Figures of EV

Looking at the worldwide figures of EV, China can be reckoned as the world’s largest electric car market with a sale of 2.2 million electric cars. This takes into consideration roughly 45% of total Electric cars sold across the globe. China is followed by Europe with a sales percentage of 24% and the United States which is at 22%. 

Electric vehicle use and its adoption | Source: Wikipedia

Even with such high sales figures, the share of Electric cars in China is only 4%. The fuel-powered Engines still dominates the car market with a whopping share of 96%. In contrast, the share of Electric cars in Norway is about 50%, even though the total number of cars on roads is relatively low compared to China. 

As of Feb 2020, around 300,000 electric cars have been registered in France, and as of Jan 2020, approximately the same number of electric cars have been registered in Germany. There were about 5.1 million charging points all over the world at the beginning of 2019. 

With the advancements in the charging technology, the use of fast charging is on the rise. 300,000 fast chargers have been installed in China which is about 80% of the world. 

As of 2019, only 2.2% of the global vehicle market has been captured by EVs. This is bound to increase as we see the US, China, and some European countries make massive progress in the charging facilities. 

The predictive analysis of the Electric Vehicle market

The sales of EVs in the US is expected to reach 23 million by 2030. It is more likely that 30% of vehicles other than two-wheelers across the globe will be electric. India has set the target of deploying 2 million electric cars by the end of 2020 and aims to have at least 30% of total vehicles on roads to be Electric by 2030. 

Summary 

The acceptance of Electric vehicles is currently at a nascent stage today but is predicted to increase in the coming years. With advancements in charging infrastructure and government targets, the adoption of electric vehicles is going to increase exponentially in the coming years. 

Read also: Future of Electric Vehicles: Bright or Gloomy

EV Duniya Editorial: This article is written by Amol Mishra