Electric car sales hit the two million mark

Longer vehicle battery life and increased support from some of the world’s biggest leaders have been credited with a huge surge in sales of electric cars, with over two million now on the road.

Across the world, there was a 60% uplift in last year compared to 2015, as the electric motor industry started to gain some real momentum.

The International Energy Agency (IEA), which compiled this data, attributes the rise to a number of factors which include lower electric car prices and an increased build of charging points.

The IEA states that 750,000 units were sold in 2016 – a huge step-change from 2005 when only a few hundred models even existed worldwide. The million mark was hit last year, and it hasn’t taken long to double on that substantial figure.

The Agency says the rise in popularity has been helped by supporting policies from increasingly-engaged governments that are taking a longer-term view on electric vehicles, as well as greater accessibility to the market for potential buyers compared to previous years.

In a sure change of the electric vehicle market’s dominance, last month Tesla announced it is to double its charge network ahead of the release of its new model Model 3 – its first mass-market electric car.

Expected to retail from a starting price of around £30,000, the new release should prove a the hit model that can take it mainstream – its first foray outside of the premium market.

The rate of progress in the EV market has been astounding, and we are on the verge of a true second-generation of EVs due in the next year or so, despite this, there has been regular and rapidly rolled-out powertrain development, with the likes of the Nissan Leaf, BMW i3, Renault Zoe, and the VW e-Golf all seeing significant increases in their respective ranges in the past year or so.

Globally in 2016, there were thought to be 2.3 million electric charging points, with availability actually slightly ahead of electric car growth itself.

Public charging points were outnumbered by private ones, which suggests that more car drivers are looking to recharge their cars at home, often overnight where this can also prove cheaper. Here at U Drive Cover we are fan of innovative technology and we can’t wait to see what the next 1-2 years brings in this now dominant market