Electric car sales doubling, net-zero target in reach: report

As Canada commits to achieve a goal of net-zero emissions by 2050, it seems the trend for a greener and cleaner environment continues as, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the sales of electric vehicles (EVs) have been rapidly rising in recent years.

A report from the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy says while global sales of EVs increased in the 2010s, total market share remained well below the levels required for the IEA net zero pathway, which calls for 25 per cent of sales by 2025 and slightly over 60 per cent by 2030.

But with a near doubling of global market share from 2019 to 2020, followed by another doubling to nine per cent in 2021, this gradual trend began to move in a positive direction and the world is now on target to meet the IEA’s net-zero projection, with EVs expected to make up 25 per cent of the total market share by 2026.

Bloomberg New Energy Finance predicted that the market share would reach 14 per cent in 2022, whereas EV sales data from Jan. 2022 already shows an increase of 87 per cent over January 2021.

While the situation in Ukraine is tragic, many expect the fallout of rising gasoline costs to boost EV sales in 2022.

This new trend for EVs might mean challenges for Alberta as 44 per cent of oil consumption is in the form of motor gasoline. The report says the Government of Alberta will need to watch these numbers very closely to ensure the province’s economy wouldn’t suffer as demand for oil drastically declines.