China Times Reporter Wu Hui-chen / Comprehensive Foreign News Report, January 18, 2023, 4:40 AM
Electric vehicles (EVs) exploded in 2022, driven by robust sales in China and Europe. Global EV sales approached 8 million units, a nearly 70% year-on-year increase, accounting for over 10% of global new car sales for the first time. This milestone offered relief to an auto market plagued by inflation, production disruptions, and recession fears.
In 2022, EV sales marked a historic breakthrough, achieving a global market share of around 10%. According to preliminary research from automotive sales tracker LMC Automotive and EV-Volumes.com, 7.8 million pure EVs were sold globally in 2022, a 68% jump from 2021.
LMC Automotive notes that pure EVs accounted for 11% of total car sales in Europe and 19% in China in 2022. EV-Volumes.com adds that, including plug-in hybrids, EVs comprised 20.3% of Europe’s sales that year.
Ralf Brandstätter, head of Volkswagen’s China operations, stated on January 13 that the EV market is expected to continue expanding rapidly, with traditional car sales beginning a permanent decline. This shift in EV dominance is likely to be evident soon in China’s auto market.
China accounted for two-thirds of global pure EV sales in 2022, with homegrown brands nurtured by Chinese policies gaining an edge over traditional Western automakers.
According to a survey by Stefan Bratzel, Director of Germany’s Center of Automotive Management, Tesla remains the global EV leader in sales, followed closely by China’s BYD and SAIC Motor.
The German Automotive Industry Association (VDA) reports that EVs made up 25% of new car production in Germany, Europe’s largest EV market, in 2022. By December 2022, more EVs than traditional gas-powered cars were sold in Germany.
LMC Automotive data shows global new car sales fell 1% in 2022 to 80.6 million units. China’s new car sales grew nearly 4%, offsetting declines of 8% in the U.S. and 7% in Europe. A weakening global economy, soaring energy costs, supply chain disruptions, and the Russia-Ukraine war impacted the overall auto market.