Long road ahead for the electric car
Globally, 95% of electric car sales are taking place in just ten countries
The number of electric vehicles on roads worldwide rose to a record two million last year - but there's a long way to go before there are enough of them to help limit an increase in global temperatures, the International Energy Agency said this week. In 2015, the number of electric cars, including battery-electric; plug-in hybrid electric, and fuel-cell electric passenger light-duty vehicles, was a million, the agency said in a report. Even at two million vehicles, the global electric car stock is only 0.2% of the total of passenger light-duty vehicles in use. "They have a long way to go before reaching numbers capable of making a significant contribution to greenhouse gas emission reduction targets," the IEA said. "To limit temperature increases to below 2ºC by the end of the century, the number of electric cars will need to reach 600 million by 2040." Research and production improvements are lowering battery costs, steadily reducing the cost gap between electric cars and internal ...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.