According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the global number of plug-in hybrid and electric cars soared by 54% in 2017 to reach 3 million. The largest single market was China where 580,000 electric vehicles (cars only) were sold in 2017 (+72% in annual sales) while the second global market was the United States with 280,000 cars in 2017 (+75%).
As for the market share, Norway was the global leader and electric cars represented 39% of Norway's new car sales in 2017, while electric cars accounted for 12% of total car sales in Iceland and 6% in Sweden. Germany and Japan also experienced significant growth levels in 2017 and doubled their market levels.
The stock of global electric buses slightly increased to 370,000 in 2017 (+7.3%) and the number of two-wheeler vehicles reached 250 million. China accounted for 99% of both the two-wheeler and electric bus stock.
In 2017, there were almost 3 million of private chargers at homes and workplaces worldwide, plus around 430,000 publicly accessible chargers (1/4 of which were fast chargers).
The IEA’s New Policies Scenario taking into account current and planned policies expects the number of electric cars to reach 125 million units by 2030. It could reach 220 million in 2030 in the EV30@30 Scenario (strengthened climate and sustainability policies).