Global electric vehicle market grew 91.7 percent annually in February 2022
According to Researcher and Research LLC, global electric vehicle (EV) market grew to 543,818 units in February , with a year on year (YoY) growth of 91.7%.
The proportions of battery electric vehicle (BEV) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) were 69.7% and 30.3%, respectively, compared with 64.7% and 35.3% of the same period last year, BEV was on a rise.
In terms of EV sales volume and market shares in major countries, China remains the world's largest EV sales country, with an annual growth rate of 182.8% and a market share of 54.3%, up significantly from 36.8% in the same period last year, as shown in figure 1. With annual growth of 65.9%, the US continued overtaking Germany to maintain the world's second-largest market by sales, with its market share falling to 11.0% from 12.7% in the same period last year. Germany, the third-largest sales country, grew 24.2% a year and its market share fell to 9.2% from 14.2%. The proportion of the top three countries rose to 74.5% from 63.7% in the same period last year, but this growth was driven by China's rising market share.
Fourth place went to France, with an annual growth rate of 32.1% and a market share of 4.3%, down from 6.2% a year earlier. Followed by the UK, with a yearly growth rate of 127.1%, and its market share grew from 2.3% to 2.8%. The share of the top five countries increased to 81.5% from 72.2% in the same period last year.
In the sixth to tenth place sales countries, Sweden, Italy, Belgium, Norway, and the Netherlands had very similar market shares, ranging from 1-2%. Among them, only Norway recorded a 17.0% decline in annual growth, while the rest showed positive development. The proportion of the top 10 was up to 88.9% from 83.6% of the same period last year, but only China increased significantly, the UK and the Netherlands grew slightly, while the individual growth rates of the rest countries were lower than that of the global market and showed a decrease in market shares.
Figure 1 Sales units of the global top 10 EV sales countries
In terms of EV and BEV penetration among major countries, Norway had the highest global EV penetration, growing to 86.1% from 79.1% in the same period last year, and remarkably, Norway also had the highest BEV penetration in the world, significantly increased from 47.5% to 75.6%, as shown in figure 2. In contrast, the US had the lowest EV penetration among the top 10 countries, with EV and BEV penetration rates growing from 3.0% and 2.2% to 5.7% and 4.2%, respectively.
Italy led only the US in EV penetration among the top 10 countries, but had the lowest BEV penetration. The proportions of its EV and BEV increased from 5.8% and 2.4% to 7.7% and 2.8%, respectively.
China's EV and BEV penetration rates grew significantly from 8.9% and 7.6% last year to 21.9% and 16.7% this year. In Germany, penetration rates of both EV and BEV increased, from 20.7% and 9.4% to 24.9% and 14.1%, respectively. France, the UK, and the Netherlands had similar EV and BEV penetration rates in February 2021. Still, in February this year, the Netherlands had a 27.9% EV penetration ahead of the UK at 25.6% and France at 20.1%, but the UK had a 17.7% BEV penetration ahead of the Netherlands at 15.6% and France at 11.7%. Both Sweden and Belgium saw significant growth in EV and BEV penetration, but these two EV sales countries were still in a PHEV-dominated market.
Figure 2 Changes in EV and BEV penetration rates of the global top 10 EV sales countries
For now, the supply chain still appears to be the biggest obstacle to EV market growth in 2022. The ripple effects of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, including rising prices of raw materials and the shutdown of factories, have had a profound impact on the auto industry. In addition to making the economic situation more uncertain, rising oil prices will directly affect petrol car sales and drive demand for EVs. However, the growth of the global EV market must be viewed with caution as rising and tightening supplies of key materials are affecting the EV supply chain. We currently maintain our previous estimate for the 2022 global EV market at 10.702 million units, representing an annual growth rate of 67.5%. However, regarding the proportion of BEV and PHEV sales, we are optimistic about the subsequent market demand for PHEV, so we increased the proportion of PHEV. The proportion of BEV and PHEV has been adjusted from 67.2% and 32.8% to 65.3% and 34.7%, respectively.