European EV Sales Reach 500,000-Unit Milestone in 2020
The world is slowly working towards fully electrifying its roads, and Europe is leading the charge. Although the continent is behind China in terms of global market share, several European countries have announced plans to ban the sale of new internal combustion engine (“ICE”) vehicles over the next few decades. This year alone, car makers in Europe have sold more than 500,000 battery-powered electric cars, despite the coronavirus pandemic and an historic economic crisis.
According to data collated by Schmidt Automotive Research, more than 1 million plug-in cars, including hybrids, were sold in the UK as well as Europe’s 17 largest markets. Compared to the 354,000 electric cars sold across the entire region last year, this is a significant increase. It can be attributed to stricter emission rules and increased consumer interest, which have prompted vehicle manufacturers to invest in the development of EVs with better range.
The UK has set the ban on new ICE vehicles to 2030; Norway wants all passenger vehicles, urban buses and light commercial vehicles to have zero-emissions in less than five years; and the Netherlands is aiming for all passenger automobiles sold starting from 2030 to be zero emission. Other EU countries, including Iceland, Denmark, Ireland, Slovenia, and Sweden, have also promised to halt the sale of new fossil-fuel passenger cars in a maximum of 10 years.
These stricter CO2 fleet emission targets have pushed EV makers to invest in developing EVs that meet the emission standards, lest they are penalized by their respective governments. Additionally, government-provided fiscal incentives have allowed drivers who couldn’t have afforded the initial purchase price to switch to zero-emission electric vehicles.
However, the continent is still a long way from widespread adoption. Electric vehicles make up only 5.5% of the market share in the UK, and none of the most popular cars in the country this year have been electric. Conventional combustion-engined vehicles are still cheaper to manufacture and more profitable than EVs; they made up most of the 13 million vehicles sold in the entire region this year.
To boost EV adoption, governments will have to offer incentives to make the vehicles more affordable to the everyday driver. Electric vehicles are quite expensive to manufacture, and most of these costs are passed on to the consumer. Fortunately, research by investment bank UBS found that by 2024, automakers would be able to produce an EV as cheaply as they would a conventional car. In the meantime, governments will have to offset the costs to encourage EV adoption.
Back in the U.S., the EV industry is evolving rapidly. For instance, Net Element (NASDAQ: NETE), a player in the global fintech space, revealed early in August that it was set to merge with an electric vehicle manufacturer called Mullen Technologies, Inc.
Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the Green Car Stocks website applicable to all content provided by GCS, wherever published or re-published: https://www.GreenCarStocks.com/Disclaimer
The world is slowly working towards fully electrifying its roads, and Europe is leading the charge. Although the continent is behind China in terms of global market share, several European countries have announced plans to ban the sale of new internal combustion engine (“ICE”) vehicles over the next few decades. This year alone, car makers in Europe have sold more than 500,000 battery-powered electric cars, despite the coronavirus pandemic and an historic economic crisis.
According to data collated by Schmidt Automotive Research, more than 1 million plug-in cars, including hybrids, were sold in the UK as well as Europe’s 17 largest markets. Compared to the 354,000 electric cars sold across the entire region last year, this is a significant increase. It can be attributed to stricter emission rules and increased consumer interest, which have prompted vehicle manufacturers to invest in the development of EVs with better range.
The UK has set the ban on new ICE vehicles to 2030; Norway wants all passenger vehicles, urban buses and light commercial vehicles to have zero-emissions in less than five years; and the Netherlands is aiming for all passenger automobiles sold starting from 2030 to be zero emission. Other EU countries, including Iceland, Denmark, Ireland, Slovenia, and Sweden, have also promised to halt the sale of new fossil-fuel passenger cars in a maximum of 10 years.
These stricter CO2 fleet emission targets have pushed EV makers to invest in developing EVs that meet the emission standards, lest they are penalized by their respective governments. Additionally, government-provided fiscal incentives have allowed drivers who couldn’t have afforded the initial purchase price to switch to zero-emission electric vehicles.
However, the continent is still a long way from widespread adoption. Electric vehicles make up only 5.5% of the market share in the UK, and none of the most popular cars in the country this year have been electric. Conventional combustion-engined vehicles are still cheaper to manufacture and more profitable than EVs; they made up most of the 13 million vehicles sold in the entire region this year.
To boost EV adoption, governments will have to offer incentives to make the vehicles more affordable to the everyday driver. Electric vehicles are quite expensive to manufacture, and most of these costs are passed on to the consumer. Fortunately, research by investment bank UBS found that by 2024, automakers would be able to produce an EV as cheaply as they would a conventional car. In the meantime, governments will have to offset the costs to encourage EV adoption.
Back in the U.S., the EV industry is evolving rapidly. For instance, Net Element (NASDAQ: NETE), a player in the global fintech space, revealed early in August that it was set to merge with an electric vehicle manufacturer called Mullen Technologies, Inc.
Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the Green Car Stocks website applicable to all content provided by GCS, wherever published or re-published: https://www.GreenCarStocks.com/Disclaimer
