Electric vehicles have come up as one of the leading solutions for the future of the automotive industry, as these vehicles are ecofriendly in nature and emit significantly fewer pollutants. Moreover, they have a much smaller carbon footprint than gasoline vehicles, even when accounting for the electricity used for charging compared to fuel-based vehicles. Electric vehicles are typically responsible for lower levels of greenhouse gases (GHGs) emission as compared to gasoline vehicles. Due to this key feature, the demand for electric vehicles has increased sharply over the last decade. By the help of supportive policies and technological development the global electric vehicle fleet has expanded in the past few years. In 2020, the sales of electric cars reached over 3 million globally, surpassing 2019’s sales of 2.1 million. The electric car sales accounted for 2.6% of the total global car sales and about 1% of the global stock in 2019. In 2010 only about 17 000 electric cars were on the world’s roads and by 2020, that number had swelled to 10 million, among which around 50% were in China only. In 2020, electric car registrations increased by 41%, despite the pandemic-related worldwide downslide in car sales in which global car sales dropped by 16%. Around 3 million electric cars were sold globally, and Europe overtook the People’s Republic of China as the world’s largest electric vehicle (EV) market for the first time in 2020. Electric bus and truck registrations also expanded in major markets, reaching global stocks of 600 000 and 31 000 respectively.
Figure 1: Global Electric Vehicle Sales, in Volume (Million Units) 2016-2026F
At present, electric vehicles can be categorized into three different types, which include full battery electric vehicles (BEVs), hybrid electric vehicles (HEV), and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). These vehicles deliver multiple environmental, societal and health benefits, such as electric vehicles are three-to-five times more energy-efficient than conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, electric vehicles have zero tailpipe emission, electric vehicles are quieter than ICE vehicles and hence contribute to less noise pollution, especially in the two/three-wheeler category. Moreover, electric vehicles can play an extended role by providing flexibility services to the power system and can help in electricity generation with the integration of variable renewable energy. Many governments around the world have introduced strengthening key policies such as CO2 emissions standards and zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandates. They have also implemented regulations, incentives, public-private partnerships, outreach campaigns, and have improved charging infrastructure to accelerate the market for electric vehicles. Moreover, many countries across North America, Europe, and Asia are offering the fiscal incentives for electric vehicles in the form of tax rebates, sales tax exemptions, subsidized price rate, etc. which is further propelling the growth rate of the electric vehicle market. In China, the government has introduced subsidy policy for electric vehicles with the driving range between 300-400km, under which their prices will be reduced by USD2,013 (13,000 yuan) per vehicle, from USD2,546 (16,200 yuan) in 2020, and for plug-in hybrid vehicles an additional reduction in price by USD1,068 (6,800 yuan) per vehicle in 2021, from USD1,335 (8,500 yuan) in 2020. Many European countries like Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Spain, Sweden, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom offer incentives on the purchase of electric vehicles. In many countries, the governments have introduced incentive plans for electric vehicles such as there is no purchase tax and no VAT on the purchase of an electric vehicle, around 75-90% tax cut in annual road tax for both plug-in hybrids vehicles and fully- electric vehicles and 50% discount on company car tax. In France the government offers subsidy on electric vehicles, which includes a bonus of up to USD7,886 for vehicles emitting 20g CO2/km or less and a bonus of up to USD2253 for plug-in hybrid vehicles emitting between 21g–50g CO2/km. The French government has also introduced the scrappage scheme in which up to USD5,633 will be reduced on the purchase of second hand or new BEVs and PHEVs and for the diesel car models that are older than 2001 or gasoline car models, older than 1997.
New technology has come up in electric vehicle components, such as new battery technology in which Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries are used they have a higher energy density than typical lead-acid or nickel-cadmium rechargeable batteries. Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries are also the lightest among the other batteries and the reason behind this is that Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries contain no lithium metal, they contain ions. With the development in technology nowadays, smart charging options for electric vehicles are becoming increasingly popular. One such technology is the Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) charging system, which allows energy stored in the vehicle’s battery that is used at the time of low energy or during the periods of high demand energy. A new wireless charging has been introduced for electric vehicles which uses inductive charging technology. The battery manufacturer OneD Battery Sciences has created SINANODE (a type of node) which combines into existing manufacturing processes, and with the help of which energy density of the anode will get triple and will help reduce the cost to half per kWh. The benefits of SINANODE include increased range and battery life of the electric vehicle.
Some of the major electric vehicle manufacturers in the world are Tesla Inc., Volkswagen AG, BYD Co. Ltd., Hyundai Motor Company, BMW AG, Ford Motor Company, Piaggio & C. SpA, Lucid Group, Inc., Renault–Nissan–Mitsubishi Alliance, General Motors Company, and SAIC Motor Corporation Limited. All these companies are launching new electric vehicles into the automotive market and making it easy for the buyers to get an alternative option that is eco-friendly, emits less pollution and consumes less energy as compared to other conventional vehicles. The global momentum in the automotive industry is shifting towards the adoption of zero-emission vehicles and all the major automakers, alongside a commitment from General Motors Company, Ford Motor Company, and other players to ensure all new car sales to be zero-emission by 2040, has increased the demand for electric vehicles among the buyers and auto manufacturers. Moreover, with the correct implementation of EV policies across the globe, electric vehicle adoption is projected to witness a significant increase in the coming years with a prediction of around 7% of total vehicle stocks to become electric by 2030.
