- The International Energy Agency (IEA)’s latest Global EV Outlook report suggests that electric car market share worldwide will rise to over 25% by the end of the year, as affordability of such vehicles continues to increase.
- Such a figure means that global sales of EVs will top 20 million by the end of 2025, marking another significant milestone for EVs halfway through the decade.
- The increase in sales come despite setbacks for the industry, proving that rising EV adoption is here to stay.
More consumers are going electric, across the world
The new report shows the clear increase in EV sales, despite multiple headwinds for the automotive industry as a whole. Last year, over 20% of cars sold worldwide were electric, with the biggest contributors to this figure being China and Europe. Moving into 2025, the first three months saw global electric car sales rise 35% year-on-year. With that progress, the IEA expects this market share to rise to more than 25% globally, by the end of the year. By 2030, global market share of electric cars is expected to exceed 40%. By this time, many countries will already be putting in place all-out bans on the sale of new petrol and diesel-powered cars.
Whilst in comparison to countries such as Norway which are maintaining an EV market share well above 90%, these projections might sound less impressive, but considering that it covers the entire globe, including countries with relatively small EV market share, it’s nonetheless an impressive feat of EV adoption.
The ever-increasing affordability of electric cars has been pinned as a major contributor to driving these new highs of EV adoption. Last year, the IEA reported that battery costs had dropped over 90% in 15 years, playing a part in helping EVs to achieve price parity with ICE rivals. The lower prices of Chinese EVs, which are now finding their way into markets such as Europe, will likely play an increasingly large role in boosting this global market share figure in the years to come.
IEA Executive Director, Fatih Birol, commented:
“Our data shows that, despite significant uncertainties, electric cars remain on a strong growth trajectory globally. Sales continue to set new records, with major implications for the international auto industry.
This year, we expect more than one in four cars sold worldwide to be electric, with growth accelerating in many emerging economies. By the end of this decade, it is set to be more than two in five cars as EVs become increasingly affordable.”
