KUALA LUMPUR (March 16): Global spending on electric vehicles (EVs) and charging infrastructure surged by 77% to US$273 billion (RM1.15 billion) in 2021.
BloombergNEF (BNEF) — a strategic research provider covering global commodity markets and disruptive technologies — in its Energy Transition Investment Trends report released earlier in March said that since 2014, investment in the electrified transport sector has risen by a compound annual growth rate of around 48%, narrowing the gap with spending on renewable energy.
It said based on current trends, EVs are on course to overtake investment in renewables this year.
BNEF said China was the dominant force in 2021, regaining its crown as the global leader in EV investment after falling behind Europe in 2020.
Spending on EVs in China more than doubled last year to US$110 billion. Passenger EV sales in the country hit 3.3 million units, which is more than all of the passenger EVs sold globally in 2020.
EV investment in the US increased by 88% to US$35 billion, as sales of passenger EVs there also saw a more than two-fold increase to around 652,000 units.
BNEF said Tesla’s reign at the top continues, with the automaker comprising over half of the US EV market.
Germany came in third in 2021, investing about US$32 billion in electrified transport, followed by the UK and France with US$17 billion and US$14 billion respectively.
Passenger EV sales have soared in Europe, propelled by stringent fuel economy regulations, new models, rising demand and, in some cases, generous subsidies.
Electric buses, commercial EVs trail behind
BNEF said the bulk of global spending on electrified transport is for passenger EVs, with the market having grown 14-fold over the past eight years.
It said sales jumped by almost 90% in 2021 to US$244 billion.
Electric bus sales remained a distant second, and investment was flat last year at around US$13 billion.
The majority of annual e-bus sales are still in China, as the rest of the world is just beginning to expand its fleets. Meanwhile, higher demand for medium- and light-duty commercial EVs saw investment in this segment rise by 36% to US$6.7 billion.