World rating of electric mobility

Total number of electric cars worldwide: more than 40 percent of all electric vehicles drive on Chinese roads

Electric vehicles (BEVs and PHEVs) are currently distributed very unevenly between different regions of the world: With 4.2 million vehicles, China currently tops registrations worldwide and has done so since 2010 (cumulative total 9.88 million). However, this lead is shrinking: The European market, which includes the members of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), in addition to the European Union, accounts for a total of 3.2 million electric vehicles. The US comes in third with 1.7 million vehicles. If we break down the European countries individually, Germany ranks third (702,981) behind the US. If the number of vehicles in Germany is added to the other top European markets – the UK (447,486), Norway (433,609) and France (413,212) – the figure even exceeds that for the US. These four countries combined (Germany, the UK, Norway and France) account for more than half the vehicles currently on the roads in the European market.

Electric cars per 1,000 inhabitants: Norway leads the way; US ahead of China

Europe is calculated to have 6.1 electric vehicles per thousand inhabitants – ahead of the US (5.2) and China (3.0). The global leader is Norway (81 per 1,000 inhabitants), followed by Iceland (36.8) and Sweden (20.6). Germany has 8.5 electric cars per 1,000 inhabitants. There are considerable differences between European regions: Northern and central Europe have a relatively high number of electric vehicles per 1,000 inhabitants, while the figure for southern and eastern Europe remains low.

Achieving climate neutrality will require a large number of pure battery-electric vehicles driving locally emission-free. By 2020, thanks to high subsidies, pure electric vehicles accounted for 79% of new electrified vehicles registered in the US, an important market for e-mobility. China even reached a ratio of 80%. With a share of 54%, Europe is still below the global average of 68% for pure battery-electric vehicles – but plug-in hybrids are very popular here. They also play an important part in lowering emissions in cities, while guaranteeing a high range for longer trips. The overall growth in the market for electric vehicles shows that PHEVs serve as an entry-level product that attracts customers to e-mobility in the long term.