KUALA LUMPUR (April 30): Global sales of electrical vehicles (EV) registered jumped by 41% in 2020 despite a pandemic-related worldwide downturn in car sales in which global car sales dropped 6%, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).

In its  Global Electric Vehicle Outlook 2021 released yesterday, the IEA said around three million electric cars were sold globally (a 4.6% sales share), and Europe overtook China as the world’s largest EV market for the first time.

It said electric bus and truck registrations also expanded in major markets, reaching global stocks of 600,000 and 31,000 respectively.

The agency said the resilience of EV sales in the face of the pandemic rested on three main pillars, namely supportive regulatory frameworks, additional incentives to safeguard EV sales from the economic downturn, and that the  number of EV models expanded and battery cost continued to fall.

The IEA said vehicle manufacturers announced increasingly ambitious electrification plans.

It explained that out of the world’s top 20 vehicle manufacturers, which represented around 90% of new car registrations in 2020, 18 had stated plans to widen their portfolio of models and to rapidly scale up production of light-duty EVs.

It added that model availability of electric heavy-duty vehicles was also broadening, with four major truck manufacturers indicating an all-electric future.

Consumer spending on electric car purchases increased to US$120 billion (about RM492.12 billion) in 2020.

In parallel, governments across the world spent US$14 billion to support electric car sales, up 25% from 2019, mostly from stronger incentives in Europe.

Nonetheless, the share of government incentives in total spending on electric cars decreased over the past five years, suggesting that EVs were becoming increasingly attractive to consumers, said the IEA.

The IEA said the near-term outlook for EV sales is bright.

It highlighted that in the first quarter of 2021 (1Q21), global electric car sales rose by around 140%, compared to the same period in 2020, driven by sales in China of around 500 000 vehicles and in Europe of around 450 000.

US sales more than doubled relative to 1Q20, albeit from a much lower base.

However, the agency pointed out that the 2020s will need to see more than just mass adoption of electric light-duty vehicles to meet climate goals.

It said governments will also need to put in place policies to promote the roll-out of zero-emission vehicles in the medium- and heavy-duty vehicle segments and the corresponding fast-charging infrastructure.