Sales of electric cars are expected to hold steady despite the coronavirus pandemic, as the rest of the automotive industry suffers
The number of publicly-accessible charging points for electric vehicles (EVs) grew by 60 per cent in 2019, the biggest increase in three years and outpacing sales of battery-powered cars, a new report has found.
SWARCO eVolt Rapid Chargers (Image: eVolt)
The International Energy Agency (IEA)’s annual Global EV Outlook study, the IEA reported the number of public slow and fast charging spots as having reached 862,118 globally – 60 per cent of which are in China, the world’s largest car market.
Fast charging points, including those used by Elon Musk’s Tesla electric cars, accounted for 31 per cent of the charger total. These points can charge vehicles’ batteries within minutes, with Supercharger stations charging Tesla batteries to around 80 per cent capacity within half an hour.
EV adoption rates to grow
The IEA defines slow charging as providing power of up to 22 kilowatts (kW), taking hours to charge a vehicle battery.
“China continues to lead in the rollout of publicly accessible chargers, particularly fast chargers, which are suited to its dense urban areas with less opportunity for private charging at home,” the report said.
The IEA expects global EV sales to match or slightly exceed last year’s in 2020 despite the coronavirus outbreak, meaning EVs will account for around 3 per cent of total global vehicle sales. In comparison, the wider automotive market is expected to drop by 15 per cent.
It projects that EVs will make up around 7 per cent of total global vehicles by 2030 if existing policies remain in place in the majority of countries.
Read more: iNews
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