Driving

Electric Vehicles Accounted for 10% of Global Share in '22

JAN 16 2023·Updated JAN 17 2023

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Image credit: AP [via NewsMax]

The Facts

Recent data and market estimates point to the sales of electric vehicles (EVs) reaching a historic milestone — they now make up around 10% of the worldwide market share for the first time.
wsj
Sales of fully electric cars reached 7.8M units in 2022, a 68% increase from the prior year.
wsj
Although EV sales grew in market share in the US from 3.2% in 2021 to 5.8% in 2022, the US still lags behind Europe and China, which were most responsible for the worldwide increase.
wsj
The growth in EV market share occurred while new car sales declined by 8% in the US, and 7% in Europe. China saw a growth of 4% in new car sales.
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The Spin

Left narrative

This is great news because electric vehicle sales are outperforming projections, and a path to net zero carbon emissions is at least visible, if not guaranteed. More must be done to encourage the transition from fossil fuels and to address issues with the EV industry, including inequality of access to EVs and sourcing of materials for batteries.

nytimes

Right narrative

EVs are going to bankrupt states and countries that rely on the oil and gas industry for their citizens’ livelihood. Sales of new EVs should be highly curtailed in desolate areas like Wyoming because there’s no charging infrastructure in these places. Also, critical minerals needed for batteries could lead to excess pollution. These vehicles are not silver bullets.