One of the main causes of carbon dioxide emissions is vehicles and transportation. The consumption of fossil fuels around the world is decreasing thanks to the development and research in renewable energies. However, the use of electric vehicles that contribute to reducing emissions has yet to be developed and very few electric vehicles are on the road.
El Global Electric Vehicle Outlook is a study that has estimated that the number of electric vehicles in circulation will increase by three in the next ten years. What is the reason for this increase?
Electric vehicles
To this day, electric vehicles are not very efficient and do not have a performance that makes buyers fully satisfied. They do not have the necessary infrastructure to charge batteries or they are not capable of traveling too long due to their low autonomy. The study has been published by the International Energy Agency (IEA) and reveals that, although in 2016 the global electric mobile fleet only reached two million vehicles, in 2020 it could be around 20.
Electric vehicles have enough difficulties to enter and be competitive in international markets, however, China has positioned itself in the market as number one in the world, being responsible for the sale of 40% of electric vehicles of the total sales worldwide in 2016.
Oddly enough, the United States is in second place in sales of electric vehicles and the European Union in third. Only between these three main markets have accumulated more than 90% of all sales worldwide. The IEA has also highlighted in the report the rapid growth that some more specific markets are experiencing. For example, Norway has achieved that 29% of all the vehicles it sells are electric.
In total all over the world they were sold in 2016 about 750.000 electric vehicles. In addition to electric four-wheelers, China also has more than two hundred million electric scooters and scooters, making the great Asian country the world's number one nation for electrically powered vehicles.
Forecasts for the future
Given these figures, the International Energy Agency estimates that between nine and twenty million electric vehicles they could hit the roads and be on the road by 2020. He also has predictions for 2025 in which he estimates there could be between 40 and 70 million electric vehicles.
These figures may seem encouraging and moving, but it must be said that so far, the number of electric vehicles in circulation around the world is barely 0,2% of all vehicles. That is why we can say that the electric vehicle has a long way to go to become an important source of greenhouse gas reduction. The report also estimates that, if we want to avoid a 2 degree increase in global average temperatures (which would lead us to irreversible situations), it would be necessary about 600 million electric vehicles by 2040. To achieve such a feat, strong support policies and stricter programs are necessary.
Cities and their role
The cities play a very important role in the development of electric vehicles. The first thing is that the government can encourage the acquisition of vehicles of these characteristics to reduce air pollution problems. You can motivate the population with easy parking for all those who have an electric vehicle, free refueling, etc. On the other hand, there are four large North American cities that are betting on the acquisition of electric vehicles and serve as an example for the rest of the world economies.
Finally, the Agency considers its dissemination role of vital importance, since publicizing mobility benefits is key for users of electric vehicles.