my country's electric vehicle market leads the world
Weng Donghui
Last year, the global electric vehicle sales broke records. Among them, China's electric vehicle development was the most dazzling, and China's dominant position in the world electric vehicle market was more stable.
Professional institutions believe that although the development of electric vehicles is the general trend, strong policy support is needed to ensure sustainability.
An important reason for the rapid development of electric vehicles in China is that relying on forward-looking policy guidance and strong support from the central to local governments, it has achieved an obvious first-mover advantage.
According to the latest Global Electric Vehicle Outlook 2022 released by the International Energy Agency (IEA), global electric vehicle sales broke records last year and will continue to grow strongly in the first quarter of 2022.
This is largely due to the active support policies adopted by many countries and regions in the world.
Statistics show that public funds related to subsidies and incentives were about 30 billion US dollars last year, doubling year-on-year.
Among them, the development of electric vehicles in China is the most dazzling. Last year, the sales volume increased by 2 times to 3.3 million, accounting for half of the global sales.
China's dominance in the world electric vehicle market is more solid.
Other electric vehicle powerhouses are chasing after them.
European sales rose 65 percent last year to 2.3 million; U.S. electric vehicle sales more than doubled to 630,000.
A similar trend is seen in the first quarter of 2022, with EV sales more than doubling in China compared to the first quarter of 2021, 60% in the U.S. and 25% in Europe.
Market analysts believe that even under the impact of the epidemic, global electric vehicles still maintain strong growth, and the major auto markets will achieve substantial growth this year, with huge market space in the future.
IEA research data also confirms this judgment: compared with 2020, global sales of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles will double in 2021 to a new annual record of 6.6 million; More than 120,000 units were sold, equivalent to the full-year sales 10 years ago.
Overall, nearly 10% of global car sales in 2021 will be EVs, a figure that is four times higher than in 2019.
The total number of electric vehicles currently on the road is about 16.5 million, triple the number in 2018.
Global electric vehicle sales were 2 million in the first quarter of this year, a 75% increase compared to the same period in 2021.
The IEA believes that although the development of electric vehicles is the general trend, strong policy support is needed to ensure sustainability.
Global resolve to tackle climate change is growing, with more countries pledging to phase out internal combustion engines over the next few decades and setting ambitious electrification targets.
At the same time, the world's major automakers have taken the lead, increasing investment and transformation, striving to achieve electrification as soon as possible, and compete for a larger market share.
According to incomplete statistics, the number of new electric vehicle models launched globally last year was five times that of 2015, and there are currently about 450 electric vehicle models on the market.
An endless stream of new models has also greatly stimulated consumers' desire to buy.
The rapid development of electric vehicles in China mainly relies on forward-looking policy guidance and strong support from the central to local governments, thus achieving a clear first-mover advantage.
By contrast, EV development in other emerging and developing economies is still lagging behind.
In addition to policy reasons, on the one hand, there is a lack of China's strong charging infrastructure construction capacity and speed; on the other hand, there is a lack of a complete, low-cost industrial chain unique to the Chinese market.
High car prices have made it difficult for many consumers to afford new models.
In Brazil, India and Indonesia, for example, EV sales account for less than 0.5% of the overall car market.
However, the future of the electric vehicle market is still promising.
Electric vehicle sales in some emerging economies, including India, have grown substantially last year, and if relevant investments and policies are in place, a new turn in development is expected in the next few years.
Looking ahead to 2030, the IEA believes that the world's electric vehicle development prospects are very optimistic.
Under the premise of adhering to current climate policies, electric vehicles will account for more than 30% of global car sales, reaching 200 million units.
In addition, the global electric vehicle charging market size is also expected to usher in huge growth.
However, there are still many difficulties and obstacles to overcome.
The amount of existing and planned public charging infrastructure is far from sufficient to meet demand, let alone accommodate the huge future electric vehicle market size.
Urban power grid distribution management is also a problem.
By 2030, digital grid technology and smart charging will be key for EVs to transform from grid integration challenges to grid management opportunities.
This is of course inseparable from technological innovation.
In particular, key minerals and metals are becoming increasingly scarce as the world scrambles to develop electric vehicles and cleantech industries.
For example, the battery supply chain faces great challenges.
Affected by the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the prices of raw materials such as cobalt, lithium and nickel have soared.
Lithium prices in May were more than seven times higher than at the beginning of last year.
This is also the reason why the United States and European Union countries have been increasing their independent production and research and development of automotive batteries in recent years to reduce their dependence on the East Asian battery supply chain.
In any case, the global electric vehicle market will be dynamic and the most popular investment paradise.