The global market for electric vehicles (EVs) has expanded dramatically over the past decade, a trend which will only continue through 2050 with government and consumer spending on EVs increasing, driven by efforts to accelerate the decarbonization of the transport industry, according to a study released by automobile services provider, Vehicle Freak. The study, titled, EV Statistics 2023, states that while consumers spent approximately $250 billion to purchase EVs in 2021 and global governments doubled EV investments to $30 billion during the same year, EV sales increased by 57% in 2022 compared to 2021 levels.
The increase drove an increase in the number of EVs sold to 10.6 million units. Vehicle Freak predicts EVs will account for over 30% of total vehicle sales in 2030. While the lack of adequate charging infrastructure remains a top market barrier, the number of publicly accessible vehicle chargers increased by 37% to 1.8 million units in 2021, with China accounting for a lion’s share of the chargers followed by the U.S and Europe. With regards to EV models produced by each country, China leads with 300 models while Europe has 184 and the U.S. has 65.
Additionally, the study forecasts that the global market for EV chargers will increase to $190 billion by 2030, with the deployment of rapid, fast, ultra-fast, smart EV charging and vehicle-to-grid technologies and infrastructure expanding. EV manufacturers will seek to reduce the time spent by consumers to fully charge while ensuring longer EV ranges.
While Tesla continues to dominate the market – representing the world’s largest producer of EV’s to date -, Chinese and German companies including BYD, Wuling and Volkswagen are increasing their market share, with the companies producing some of the world’s top-selling models, according to the study.
As the EV market expands, so will the demand for lithium-ion batteries, as the industry will require over 30 TWh of battery storage capacity by 2040, further driving the global demand for critical minerals such as lithium and cobalt.
