Global Electric Vehicle news for April. Subscribe to Electric Vehicle News Bitesize Podcast for FREE!
China saw some supply chain disruptions and factory closures (due to COVID-19). Still, Electric Vehicle sales in China, Europe and the U.S. continued to rise to near-record levels.
Most interestingly, the market share of plug-in Electric Vehicles in both China (26%) and Europe (22%) is now well above 20% based on March 2022 sales.
Global Electric Vehicle sales of 851,000 in March 2022 (the second-best month ever), up 60% from March 2021, with a market share of 15% in March 2022 and 11% year-to-date.
72% of year-to-date Electric Vehicle sales are 100% battery electric vehicles, with the remainder being hybrids.
Electric vehicle sales in China totaled 458,000 units in March 2022, the second-best monthly performance on record and a 118% increase over March 2021 sales. Year-to-date, China’s Electric Vehicle market share is impressive at 26% and 21%, respectively.
Electric vehicle sales in Europe reached 250,000 units in March 2022 (the second-best month ever). This is up 10% year-on-year, capturing 22% market share and 21% Year To Date market share.
In March 2022, Norway’s share reached 92%, Sweden 56%, Germany 26%, the UK 23% and France 21.4%.
US electric car sales were not available.
These sales include light commercial vehicles.
Electric vehicle sales will really pick up after 2022. It now appears that Electric Vehicle sales have grown in 2021, with sales of about 6.5 million and a market share of 9%.
Biden has invoked the Defense Production Act to boost Electric Vehicle battery production. The Biden administration officially said that it will use the Defense Production Act to boost domestic production of batteries used to drive Electric Vehicles and transition to renewable energy. The decision adds lithium, nickel, cobalt, graphite and manganese to the list of covered projects that could help miners receive $750 million under the act’s Title III funds.
Canadian miners welcomed Ottawa’s key mining budget plan. Canadian miners say Ottawa’s plan to spend C$3.8 billion ($3.02 billion) to boost domestic production of lithium, copper and other strategic minerals should help boost the country’s efforts, key to the global electric vehicle supply chain component.
This year, Electric Vehicle demand remains strong, even as the average cost of lithium-ion batteries rose to $160 per cell in the first quarter, up from $105 last year, with an increase in kilowatt-hours. Costs have risen due to supply chain disruptions, Russian metals sanctions and investor speculation.
Vertical Aerospace is expected to be type-approved simultaneously in the UK and Europe. UK-based Vertical Aerospace expects to launch a ride-sharing service for its four-seat eVTOL aircraft in the UK and Europe in 2025.
The company recently announced that the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has agreed to concurrently validate that Vertical is awaiting a type certificate from the UK Civil Aviation Authority [CAA]. To ensure its aircraft complies with both agencies, the company has appointed former EASA certification director Trevor Woods as director of regulatory affairs for the eVTOL developer.
Plug-in vehicle sales in 15 European countries exceeded 15%. In 12 European countries, at least 10% of new car buyers buy a fully electric vehicle. China also passed these milestones in 2021 (15% plug-in vehicle share and 12% Battery Electric Vehicle share).
Global Electric Vehicle sales rose nearly 120% in the first quarter of this year, according to estimates. Tesla delivered a record 310,000 electric vehicles in the first quarter, despite the company raising prices several times in 2021 and March 2022.
According to Reuters, Chinese automakers NIO, Xpeng Motors and Li Auto each sold a record number of electric vehicles in March.
Tesla is currently No. 1 globally with a 15.5% global market share. Tesla ranks third in China with a market share of 9.6% in 2022. Tesla was fifth in Europe with a year-to-date market share of 10.2% due to a weak January. To date, Tesla remains the No. 1 electric car seller in the United States.
Tesla opened its’ Texas Gigafactory, China remains closed, Austin and Berlin picked up the slack. Despite this Tesla struggled to increase deliveries by 50%. The company produced 305,407 vehicles from January to March. “It was an *exceptionally* difficult quarter due to supply chain disruptions and China’s zero outbreak policy,” Musk tweeted on April 2.
BYD is currently No. 2 globally with a year-to-date market share of 14.3%. As of March 2022, BYD ranks first in China with a market share of 25.3%.
The Volkswagen Group is currently the world’s fourth-best-selling electric car maker with a year-to-date market share of 8.3%. It is No. 1 in Europe with a year-to-date market share of 17.5%.
The world’s first Hyper-SUV Electric Vehicle was put on display in London. The Eletre is an all-new all-electric Hyper-SUV, a striking and progressive addition to the Lotus range, and the first in a new generation of all-electric SUVs. It takes core principles and Lotus DNA from more than 70 years of sports car design and engineering, and evolves it into an all-new lifestyle car that the next generation of Lotus customers will dream of.
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