IEA projects record year for electric cars in 2024 in the world

The sales of electric cars will maintain strong growth in 2024, especially in China, according to the annual report of the International Energy Agency (IEA) published on Tuesday.

“The push for electric cars clearly remains in our data, although it will be stronger in some markets”said Fatih Birol, director of the IEA, in a statement.

The reduction of margins, the volatile prices of battery raw materials, high inflation and the elimination of purchasing subsidies in some countries such as Germany, have caused concern about the growth of the sector, but “global sales remain strong”, highlighted the IEA.

In the first quarter of 2024, electric sales grew 25% year-on-year, an increase similar to that of 2023.

Globally, 2024 should be a record year with a 20% increase in electric car sales, according to the IEA.

More than one in five cars sold in the world will be electric, with around 17 million units.

It is expected that the market share of electric vehicles should reach 45% in China, 25% in Europe and 11% in the United States, driven by competition between manufacturers, the fall in battery and vehicle prices, and the support public to electrification.

Electric models in China are already often cheaper than their combustion equivalents. The same should be achieved by 2030 with most models in the other major car markets, such as Europe.

The second-hand market is also developing rapidly, lowering the cost of access to electrical technology.

According to IEA projections, in 2030 almost one in three cars on the road in China will be electric, and one in five in Europe and the United States.

By 2035, half of the cars sold in the world will have to be electric, avoiding the consumption of 10 million barrels of oil per day.