From the traction of policy dividends, to the persuasion of education by enterprises, to the active attempts of consumers today, this series of changes seems to indicate that the age of electric cars will not be too far away.
The IEA released statistical data in the latest issue of the “Global Electric Vehicle Outlook”. In 2017, the global market for new energy vehicles (including pure electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles) exceeded 3 million vehicles, an increase of 54% year-on-year.
A total of 430,000 public charging stations are available worldwide by the end of 2017
Global Accelerated Electromobility
Compared with several years ago, sales of electric vehicles increased significantly in 2017, and the world began to accelerate the electrification. So far, China is still the world’s largest electric vehicle market, and one of the two electric vehicles sold in China is in 2017. In 2005, China’s electric vehicle sales were close to 580,000 vehicles, an increase of 72% year-on-year. The United States ranked second behind, with 280,000 vehicles sold in 2017 and 160,000 vehicles in 2016.
Although China and the U.S. have the most electric vehicles sold, according to the ratio, they have the highest market share but they are in some countries in Northern Europe. The sales of electric vehicles in Norway account for 39% of the total sales of new cars, and the market share of electric cars. Leading the world; Iceland's new electric car sales accounted for 12% of total sales, while in Sweden, this proportion reached 6%. In addition, Germany and Japan also showed strong growth, both in 2017 sales are better than 2016 The annual growth has more than doubled.
However, the trend of motorization is not limited to four-wheeled cars. In 2017, the number of electric buses increased from 345,000 in 2016 to 370,000, and 250 million for electric two-wheeled vehicles. The electrification drive in these fields is mainly From China. At present, the proportion of electric buses and two-wheeled vehicles in China has reached more than 99%, and the number of registrations in Europe and India has also increased year by year.
With the increase in the number of electric vehicles, charging infrastructure is also building up. According to statistics, as of 2017, the number of personal chargers for households and workplaces around the world has approached 3 million. One quarter of them are fast charging stations. Fast charging stations are particularly important in densely populated cities, and have increased the appeal of electric vehicles in long-distance travel.
Policy support costs drop
Whether it is the US, Europe or the United States, the government has played an important role in the development of electric vehicles. Public procurement projects, financial incentives to reduce the cost of purchasing electric vehicles, fuel economy regulations to strengthen local pollutant emissions, low-income and zero-emissions Vehicle regulations and various local measures, such as restricting the circulation of vehicles based on pollutant discharge performance, have promoted the sales of electric vehicles.
In addition to external factors, electric vehicles themselves are also improving their market competitiveness through improved technologies. As the scale of production continues to increase, the cost of lithium-ion batteries has fallen, and electric vehicles have become more cost-effective. In addition, the driving range and the improvement in performance have led to an increase in performance. The more consumers come to consider purchasing pure electric vehicles.
Unavoidable contradiction between supply and demand
The increase in sales of electric vehicles and the continuous expansion of the market have led to another problem. As nickel, lithium and cobalt pose problems for the supply of core elements of lithium-ion batteries, innovations in battery chemistry will also need to sustain growth. In particular, the supply of cobalt is particularly at risk. At present, nearly 60% of global cobalt production is concentrated in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The ability to refine and process raw cobalt is also highly concentrated. About 90% of refining technology is controlled by China. Considering battery chemistry With the continuous development, by 2030, the demand for cobalt in electric vehicles is expected to be 10 to 25 times higher than the current level. The important way to resolve this contradiction is to recycle the batteries and reuse them.
The IEA report also pointed out that in the future, with the supportive policies and cost reductions, the electric vehicle market will continue to grow substantially. Taking into account current and planned policies, the number of electric vehicles is expected to reach 125 million by 2030 However, if we continue to raise environmental standards, the number of electric vehicles on the road in 2030 may be even higher, close to 220 million vehicles.