• International Energy Agency says EV market grew 60% in 2016
• Plug in automobiles may reach 30% market penetration by 2030

The number of electric vehicles on the road rocketed to 2 million in 2016 after being virtually non-existent just five years ago, according to the International Energy Agency.

Registered plug-in and battery-powered vehicles on roads worldwide rose 60 percent from the year before, according to the Global EV Outlook 2017 report from the Paris-based IEA. Despite the rapid growth, electric vehicles still represent just 0.2 percent of total light-duty vehicles.

“China was by far the largest electric car market, accounting for more than 40 percent of the electric cars sold in the world and more than double the amount sold in the United States,”

the IEA wrote in the report published Wednesday.

“It is undeniable that the current electric car market uptake is largely influenced by the policy environment.”

Read more: Bloomberg