IEA: EVs Will Account For 20% Of All Car Sales This Year

By Tsvetana Paraskova - Apr 26, 2023

The surge in electric vehicle sales will continue this year after a record 2022, with EVs accounting for nearly one-fifth of global car sales in 2023, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Wednesday. 

The momentum of EVs taking a growing share of the global car market is set to continue in the coming years to the point of displacing 5 million barrels per day of oil, the IEA said in its annual report Global EV Outlook 2023.

Last year, EV sales accounted for 14% of all new cars sold globally, up from around 9% in 2021 and less than 5% in 2020. China, Europe, and the United States continue to dominate EV sales, with China the frontrunner once again, accounting for around 60% of global electric car sales.  

“More than half of the electric cars on roads worldwide are now in China and the country has already exceeded its 2025 target for new energy vehicle sales,” the IEA said. 

EV sales in Europe, the second-largest market, rose by more than 15% in 2022, meaning that more than one in every five cars sold was electric. EV sales in the United States—the third-largest market—surged by 55% in 2022, reaching a sales share of 8% of the U.S. new car market, according to IEA data. 

Sales of EVs are also starting to take off in other key markets, including India, Indonesia, and Thailand, the IEA’s Executive Director, Fatih Birol, said.

“The trends we are witnessing have significant implications for global oil demand. The internal combustion engine has gone unrivalled for over a century, but electric vehicles are changing the status quo,” Birol said in a statement. 

“By 2030, they will avoid the need for at least 5 million barrels a day of oil. Cars are just the first wave: electric buses and trucks will follow soon,” the IEA’s executive director added.