5 Infographics that Explain the Race to Electrification

In an era defined by environmental consciousness and technological innovation, the world of transportation is witnessing a revolutionary shift—the electrification of cars. This transformation is not just a trend; it's a race towards a greener and more sustainable future on wheels.

Whether you're an electric vehicle enthusiast, a prospective buyer, or simply curious about the electric road ahead, these five infographics provide valuable insights into the electrifying world of automotive innovation. 

1.  Who’s Got the Most EVs? 

China’s dominance in electric vehicles is perhaps best demonstrated when looking at the chart outlining the Top 10 Countries by Total EV Stock in 2022, when China houses 4.7X the absolute number of EVs driving on US roads. Today, there are 14.7 million EVs driving in China compared to 3 million in the USA, and just under 2 million in Germany. 

Infobyte: Top 10 Countries by Total Electric Car Stock - 2022 (Millions)

2. Who Has Electrification Fever?

When we look at EVs as a proportion of new cars sold in 2022, small European nations lead the charge, with 88% of Norway’s total car sales being 100% electric. Other Scandinavian countries like Iceland and Sweden post similarly high percentages, at 70% and 54% respectively. Hong Kong comes in 4th place, with 53% of new car sales being electric. In China, due to its sheer size and girth, ranks 9th place, with nearly 1 in every 3 new cars sold being electric (29%). 

Infobyte: Top 10 Countries by Proportion of Electric Car Amongst Cars Sold in 2022 (%)

3. Which is the Most Electrified Nation?

Perhaps the metric that is most important to track, is the electrification rate of the total car population. Norway leads, with 27% of all cars on Norwegian roads being electric at the end of 2022. Iceland follows at 16%, and the rest follow with single digit progress. Here, we can see clearly that the USA lags far behind, having only electrified 2.1% of their national fleet of vehicles, below the 2.4% world average. China has electrified nearly 5% of the vehicles on its roads, ahead of smaller countries like Belgium and Switzerland.

Infobyte: Top 10 Countries by Electrification Rate of Total Car Population (%)

Related: Norway Has Had around 20 Attempts at Car Production, All Displayed in the Norwegian Vehicle Museum

4. Growing Model Availability 

It wasn’t a few short years ago that Tesla was really the only one true BEV option available on the market with significant range to alleviate ‘range anxiety’. The number of ICE models have remained north of 1250 since 2010, peaking at 1500 in the middle of the last decade. However, since 2016, the number of ICE models have been steadily declining at a CAGR of -2%, plummeting to nearly 1300 models in 2022.

Undoubtedly, one of the main drivers for a slow-down in combustion engine models is the push towards electrification. Though trade policies impact what car models and brands can be sold in some countries like the USA, countries that show a greater adoption of EVs also have higher model availability. Thus, perhaps one of the secrets to China’s dominance is the optionality it provides to its Chinese consumer base. Chinese customers have 3.4X more options available to choose from, compared to American customers, with 292 EV models versus 87 models. Norway has the second highest optionality with 166 models available, proving that small countries with a great appetite for EVs can be strong markets for any and all EV manufacturers.

Infobyte: EV Model Availability 2018 vs 2022

5. OEM’s Electrification Roadmap

The World’s Largest Automotive Manufacturers have committed to going electric and many plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, if not sooner.

Infobyte: The Car Manufacturer’s Road to Electrification

 

To read more about the state of the electric vehicles revolution in 2023 – read the full report here. 

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