Another successful year is ahead for battery-powered automobiles (EVs).
According to a report by the International Energy Agency (IEA), an autonomous intergovernmental organization based in Paris, they will account for nearly a fifth of worldwide automotive sales in 2023, up from 4% in 2020. It pointed out that sales of electric vehicles are expected to increase by 35%, to 14 million in 2023.
After being unmatched for over a century, the internal combustion engine is finally facing competition from electric vehicles. They expect to save at least 5 million barrels of oil per day by 2030. The IEA’s head, Fatih Birol, has stated that cars are just the beginning and that electric buses and trucks will soon follow.
The analysis from the IEA found that the three largest markets for e-vehicles were China, Europe, and the United States.
It was stated that by 2022, China will have sold 60 percent of all-electric vehicles sold worldwide. While the United States and Europe only saw respective growth rates of 55% and 15%, more welcoming local policies are expected to increase those numbers to 60% by 2030.
Battery production and supply networks are also benefiting from these “encouraging trends,” the IEA stated.
A majority of production will remain in China, giving the country an advantage that has already led to “dominating the battery and component trade—and increasing its share of global electric car exports to more than 35% last year,” as the paper puts it.
Meanwhile, in developing nations like India, two- and three-wheeled vehicles will remain the norm. In 2022, “over half of India’s three-wheeler registrations were electric, demonstrating their growing popularity,” it stated.
To quote the World Bank, “The electrification of two- and three-wheeled vehicles is important to support sustainable development in many developing economies because they provide an affordable way to get access to mobility.”
