According to a study conducted by management consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), sales of electric cars worldwide reached 10,4 million units last year, an increase of about 14% over the previous year.
In the 21 markets included in the study, the Chinese market accounted for almost two-thirds of sales, with 6,7 million battery electric cars sold, recording growth of more than 20%, well above the average based on revised figures from the previous year.
The United States ranks second with sales of 1,2 million electric cars, an increase of 7,4%, followed by the United Kingdom with 382 cars sold, up 000% from the previous year.
Germany fell to fourth place after the electric car market saw a 27% decline to 381 units sold, a result of the removal of state purchase incentives last year.
Sales also declined in other European markets, such as France, Austria, Italy, Switzerland and Sweden, but the declines there were more moderate and less pronounced than in Germany.
Jörn Neuhausen, an electric car market expert at PwC subsidiary Strategy&, said the electric car market is highly dependent on external factors, adding that strong sales in China at the end of the year could be attributed to “some kind of replacement incentive for the purchase of electric cars.”
PwC also said weak sales in Germany had slowed momentum in the European Union market as a whole.
The study also noted that automakers had postponed some electric car sales from last year to this year to comply with stricter CO2 emissions regulations due in 2025.
By our partner Nidaa al Watan (with Reuters)
