Skip to main content

Over 35 million electric vehicles on world’s roads by 2022, claims new report

More than 35 million electric vehicles (EV) will be on the world’s roads by 2022, according to a new report from Navigant Research. “With gasoline prices remaining high, acquiring an EV is becoming an economic decision for many consumers,” says Scott Shepard, research analyst with Navigant Research. “The initial purchase price premiums for EVs, compared to conventional gasoline and diesel-powered internal combustion engines, are substantial. Yet, operational cost savings due to reduced refuelling and maint
January 8, 2014 Read time: 2 mins
More than 35 million electric vehicles (EV) will be on the world’s roads by 2022, according to a new report from Navigant Research.

“With gasoline prices remaining high, acquiring an EV is becoming an economic decision for many consumers,” says Scott Shepard, research analyst with Navigant Research. “The initial purchase price premiums for EVs, compared to conventional gasoline and diesel-powered internal combustion engines, are substantial. Yet, operational cost savings due to reduced refuelling and maintenance costs are proving that, when considered over the life of the vehicle, EVs are cost-competitive with internal combustion engine vehicles.”

Navigant Research estimates in 2013 there were over 7.3 million EVs on roads – the vast majority being hybrids.

The research firm says that innovations in EV technologies are reducing the cost of EV ownership. These include vehicle-to-grid (V2G) systems that allow plug-in EV (PEV) owners to utilise battery power not only for driving, but also for emergency backup power and grid balancing. Test fleets are being used to examine the revenue potential of V2G services, and electricity providers are looking into ways to shift PEV charging to off-peak hours through demand response programmes. Developments in both areas promise to strengthen the business case of PEV technologies for fleet and individual owners, the Navigant Research report concludes.

The report, Electric Vehicle Market Forecasts, provides forecasts, market sizing, and market share analysis for the overall light-duty (LD) vehicle market and LD hybrid EVs, plug-in hybrid EVs, and battery EVs. It includes comprehensive data for vehicle sales and vehicles in use (parc) for the global LD vehicle market, as well as the three EV segments. Also provided are the underlying forecast assumptions for the consumer and fleet markets.

Leading EV manufacturers including Volkswagen and General Motors are strong in the Chinese market – which, given its size and Government subsidies to local firms to develop EV’s, and its further subsidies to customers to buy them, is predicted by many sector analysts to become the world’s leading EV market. A basic, all-electric version of, for instance, the hybrid Chevy Volt/Vauxhall Ampere could be reasonably cheap for many EV manufacturers to develop.

Related Content

  • Chinese manufacturers LiuGong and XCMG in Europe
    October 16, 2012
    Both LiuGong and XCMG are increasing their manufacturing operations, with a focus on Europe - Guy Woodford reports The near 4,000m² site is situated about 35km from Amsterdam and is said to have convenient access to European cities via air, sea and highway. The European headquarters will serve as the Chinese firm’s sales hub, technical support base and spare parts distribution centre for existing and potential customers. “This new office will strengthen our presence as a top construction equipment manufactu
  • Fuel saving innovations
    April 19, 2012
    Up to a third of fuel consumption in cars is is spent in overcoming friction. However, both fuel consumption and emissions can be reduced by the use of new technology. This news comes from a joint study by the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and the Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) in USA. Innovative new technology can reduce friction by anything from 10-80% in various components of a car according to the study. And it should be possible to reduce car fuel consumption and emissions by 18% withi
  • Machine control technology evolving fast
    February 8, 2012
    The machine control market is evolving fast and is increasingly becoming part of a much wider construction site management concept, Mike Woof reports. Machine control technology has come a long way in the past 20 years and the development of 2D and 3D systems has been rapid in the construction sector.
  • Future of road user charging: IRF convenes leaders’ roundtable for discussion
    April 6, 2020
    Charging for the use of roads is not a new practice, dating as far back as the 7th century BC, but its recent rate of expansion has been staggering.