Electric Vehicles
Electric vehicles passed 14 million new sales in 2023 — about 18% of global passenger car sales. The share is far higher in some markets: 90%+ in Norway, 38% in China, 24% in the EU. BYD and Tesla together account for ~30% of global EV sales. Fleet penetration (electric share of all cars on the road) remains under 5% — adoption is faster in flows than in stocks.
Key insights
China is the EV market that matters
China alone bought ~8 million EVs in 2023 — over half the global total. Chinese automakers (BYD, SAIC, Geely, GAC, NIO, Li Auto, XPeng) dominate the domestic market and are expanding globally — BYD passed Tesla as the world's largest BEV producer in late 2023. Strong state policy (purchase subsidies, license-plate quotas, dense charging networks, mandatory NEV credits) drove the inflection.
Norway shows what saturation looks like
Norway has reached >90% BEV share of new passenger sales through a combination of generous tax incentives (no VAT on EVs vs 25% on ICE, no purchase tax), road-toll exemptions, free public charging in some cities, and bus-lane access in Oslo. The Norwegian fleet is now ~30% electric; the transition is largely complete on the sales side and ongoing on the stock side. No other country has hit similar shares.
Charging is the rate-limiting infrastructure
Public chargers worldwide reached ~3.9 million in 2024, up from ~2.7 million the year before. Fast chargers (DC, >50 kW) are about 25% of the stock and growing fastest. The US has ~180,000 public chargers (45,000 fast) — well below what's needed for a fully electric fleet. China leads with ~2.7 million public chargers. The cost of fast-charging infrastructure ($150–500k per fast charger installed) is the binding constraint, especially in rural areas.
Global EV sales 2014–2023
Millions of new passenger BEV + PHEV registered
Key Finding: Global EV sales doubled every 2 years from 2018 to 2023; growth has begun to moderate in 2024.
EV share of new passenger car sales — selected markets (2023)
% BEV + PHEV of new passenger car sales
Key Finding: Norway, Sweden and Iceland lead; the US lags Europe and China.
Methodology & caveats
BEV vs PHEV vs HEV
Battery electric (BEV): no internal combustion engine. Plug-in hybrid (PHEV): both ICE and battery, can drive on electric power alone for 20–80 km. Hybrid electric (HEV, e.g. Prius): regenerative battery, no plug, runs on petrol. 'EV' usually refers to BEV+PHEV; HEVs are excluded. Different markets count these differently — China counts PHEVs and EREVs as NEVs; the EU CO₂ standards do too.
Sales vs stock
Sales (annual flow) responds quickly to policy and product launches. Stock (vehicles on the road) responds slowly because the fleet turns over every 15–20 years. EVs are ~18% of new sales but only ~5% of the global fleet. Stock electrification will continue rising for ~20 years even if new sales were 100% electric tomorrow.
Charging types and standards
AC slow charging (3–22 kW, home/workplace, 8–24 hour full charge) makes up ~70% of public chargers. DC fast charging (50–350 kW, highway, 20–60 min) is the public-network growth area. Three connector standards persist: CCS (Europe, US), CHAdeMO (Japan, declining), GB/T (China). NACS (Tesla's connector) has been adopted by most US automakers and is becoming standard.