There is no denying it — around the globe, the push for an electrified automotive sector is rapidly gaining momentum. In fact, according to a new report from the International Energy Agency (IEA), global EV sales took a “giant leap” in both volume and market share in 2021.
The report revealed that 6.6 million plug-in vehicles were sold in 2021, which is more than double the 3 million sold in 2020, and more than triple the 2.2 million sold in 2019. Understandably, this year-over-year growth is exciting for the industry, especially with so many automakers now re-leasing more electrified vehicle options to consumers.
When looking to both battery electric plus plug-in hybrid vehicles, the report revealed that hybrids claimed about 9% of the global new-car market, which is up from 4.1% in 2020 and 2.5% in 2019. Not only that, but all net growth in global car sales in 2021 came from EVs.
Specifically, 2021 car sales were “boosted by rollouts of more new EV models, as well as automaker announcements of increased EV production, such as Toyota’s goal of achieving 3.5 mil-lion EV sales annually by 2030.”
According to the report, China led this growth with 3.4 million in sales in 2021, which is almost tripled from 2020. EV sales in the United States also surged, reaching half a million, while EV sales in Europe increased nearly 70% in 2021 to 2.3 million.
