Electric vehicle sales set to surge, IEA predicts

Hans van LeeuwenEurope correspondent

Apr 23, 2024 – 3.00pm

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London | Electric vehicles could account for one in five cars sold this year, the International Energy Agency says, shrugging off perceptions of a slowdown.

The engine of EV sales growth – and of falling prices – will still be China, which will lead the way in exports and domestic sales, keeping European and US rivals on the defensive.

A Xiaomi SU7 electric vehicle on display in a Shanghai showroom. Almost half of car sales in China are likely to be EVs this year. Bloomberg

The IEA’s Global EV Outlook 2024, released on Tuesday, suggests that EV sales growth worldwide is still motoring along, and the electric-car segment is set to continue eating into the market share of the combustion engine.

In the first three months of 2024, EV sales were 25 per cent higher than a year ago, the IEA says, and are on track to hit 17 million this year.

Almost half of car sales in China are likely to be EVs this year, and one-quarter in Europe. In the US, one in 10 cars leaving the showroom in 2024 will be electric. By 2030, every second car sold worldwide will probably be an EV, the IEA says.