There could be 145 million electric vehicles on the world’s roads by 2030

The International Energy Agency (IEA) says that the EV market went against the grain during the coronavirus pandemic, growing by 41 per cent despite a 16 per cent contraction in the market overall.

Around three million electric cars were sold globally, representing just under five per cent of the market. Europe rose above China as the world’s largest EV market for the first time in 2020 too, with registrations more than doubling to 1.4 million, contrasting China’s 1.2 million.

This pattern for strong sales has carried on into 2021, with the year-to-date figures closing in on two and a half times those seen in the same period last year.

As a result, the IEA believes that based on current trends the number of electric vehicles on the road could go up from 11 million to 145 million by 2030.

Fatih Birol, executive director of the IEA, said: “While they can’t do the job alone, electric vehicles have an indispensable role to play in reaching net-zero emissions worldwide.

“Current sales trends are very encouraging, but our shared climate and energy goals call for even faster market uptake. Governments should now be doing the essential groundwork to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles by using economic recovery packages to invest in battery manufacturing and the development of widespread and reliable charging infrastructure.”