Global sales of EV’s nearly doubled from 2020, and must continue to increase to meet the Net Zero Scenario

Electric vehicles are the key technology to decarbonise road transport, a sector that accounts for 16% of global emissions.

Compared with 2020, sales nearly doubled to 6.6 million (a sales share of nearly 9%), bringing the total number of electric cars on the road to 16.5 million. The sales share of electric cars increased by 4 percentage points in 2021. Getting on track with the Net Zero Scenario requires their sales share to increase by less than 6% percentage points per year.

New zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) sales targets were announced in several markets and existing targets were intensified as governments demonstrated a strong commitment to incorporating the electrification of cars as a key component of strategies to meet net zero targets and nationally determined contributions.

Electric car registrations and sales share in China, United States, Europe and other regions, 2016-2021