Sales of fully electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) have continued to slow across the world, according to market research firm Rho Motion, cited by Reuters. Sales rose by only 31% last year, down from 60% growth in 2022, the data shows.
Global sales of such cars passed the 10 million-mark in 2022, with 60% of the vehicles sold in China.
“The pace of growth is slowing, but that’s what’s expected in growing markets like this,” Rho Motion data manager Charles Lester told the outlet this week. “You can’t double every year,” he said.
According to Lester, global EV sales worldwide in 2023 were largely in line with the 30% growth Rho Motion had projected. For 2024, growth is estimated to be between 25% and 30%.
Meanwhile, in December sales hit a monthly record of 1.5 million units, the company said. Fully electric or battery electric vehicles (BEVs) accounted for 9.5 million out of the 13.6 million EVs sold around the world in 2023, with PHEVs accounting for the rest.
“After years of accelerating growth, some automakers fear electric car sales in Europe and elsewhere could be heading for slowing demand as drivers wait for better, smaller and cheaper models that are two to three years down the road,” Reuters wrote.
Statistics show that BEV sales were up 50% in the US and Canada, and rose 27% and 15% in Europe and China, respectively. Lester told Reuters that this year sales in Europe could be affected by Germany’s abrupt decision to drop EV subsidies.
A recent report by research firm Canalys suggested that growth in the global EV market is set to slow to 27.1% this year as the reduction in state subsidies makes the cars less appealing to buyers.
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