Global EV Outlook 2019

Scaling-up the transition to electric mobility

M a y 2 0 1 9

Abstract

The Global EV Outlook is an annual publication that identifies and discusses recent developments in electric mobility across the globe. It is developed with the support of the members of the Electric Vehicles Initiative (EVI).

Combining historical analysis with projections to 2030, the report examines key areas of interest such as electric vehicle and charging infrastructure deployment, ownership cost, energy use, carbon dioxide emissions and battery material demand. The report includes policy recommendations that incorporate learning from frontrunner markets to inform policy makers and stakeholders that consider policy frameworks and market systems for electric vehicle adoption.

This edition features a specific analysis of the performance of electric cars and competing powertrain options in terms of greenhouse gas emissions over their life cycle. As well, it discusses key challenges in the transition to electric mobility and solutions that are well suited to address them. This includes vehicle and battery cost developments; supply and value chain sustainability of battery materials; implications of electric mobility for power systems; government revenue from taxation; and the interplay between electric, shared and automated mobility options.

(Brazil); Lisa Bjergbakke (Denmark); Baldur Pétursson (Iceland); Jón Ásgeir H. Þorvaldsson (Iceland); Anna Lilja Oddsdóttir (Iceland); Sigurdur Ingi Friðleifsson (Iceland); Alok Ray (Society of manufacturers of electric vehicles, India) and Hiten Parmar (South Africa). Sarbojit Pal, Rui Luo, Ellina Levina and Christian Zinglersen from the Clean Energy Ministerial secretariat were also instrumental to facilitate the development of EVI activities.

Peer reviewers provided essential feedback to improve the quality of the report. They include:

Rashad Abelson (OECD); Laurent Antoni (IEA AFC TCP); Jonn Axsen (Simon Fraser University); Kawtar Benabdelaziz (IEA HEV TCP); Tomoko Blech (CHAdeMO Association); Clement Bonnet (IFP Energies nouvelles); Karima Boukir (Enedis); Wieland Bruch (BMW); Anri Cohen (BP); Sylvie Courty (Enedis); Charles Crispim (Government of Canada); Francois Cuenot (UNECE); Qiang Dai (Argonne National Laboratory); Jacques Delaballe (International Electrotechnical Commission); Alexandros Dimitropoulos (OECD); Clarisse Durand (Government of France); Jonathan Eckart (World Economic Forum); Todd Edwards (Mission 2020); Sapna Eticala (Infineum); Annika Fischer (IEA AFC TCP); Bogdan Gagea (BP); Christel Galbrun-Noel (Schneider Electric); Marjan Gjelaj (Technische Universität Dänemarks); Mattias Goldmann (FORES); Pedro Gomes (EDP); Ichiro Gonda (NGK NTK); Cécile Goubet (AVERE-FRANCE); Emmanuel Hache (IFP Énergies nouvelles); Martin Haigh (Shell); Jasmin Hamp (Charging Interface Initiative); Kensai Hata (Toyota); Petter Haugneland (Norsk elbilforening); Yasuhiro Horikawa (Government of Japan); Kaoru Horie (Honda); Aaron Hoskin (Government of Canada); Roland Irle and Viktor Irle (EVvolumes.com); Asbjørn Johnsen (Norwegian Public Roads Administration); Gerfried Jungmeier (IEA HEV TCP); Hiroyuki Kaneko (Nissan); Arjan Keizer (NewMotion); Jarod C. Kelly (Argonne National Laboratory); Yossapong Laoonual (King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi); Sebastián Herrera Larraín (Government of Chile); Sylene Lasfargues (Government of France); Francisco Laveron (Iberdrola); Philip Lenart (ExxonMobil); Chengxi Li (SIAC Shanghai); Paulo Lopes (EDP); Pieter Looijestijn (MRA-Elektrisch); Maurizio Maggiore (EC); Vivek Makhija (Shell); Tim Martin (RESOLVE); Nikola Medimorec (SLoCaT Partnership); Austin Mertz (ChargePoint); James F. Miller (Argonne National Laboratory); Mark Mistry (Nickel Institute); Simone Mori (Enel); Sonja Munnix (Netherlands Enterprise Agency); Hannah E. Murdock (REN21); Tatsuya Nagai (Government of Japan); Khac-Tiep Nguyen (formerly UNIDO); Frank Nikolic (Vale); Andi Novianto (Government of Indonesia); Walid Oueslati (OECD); Risa Oya (Toyota); Max Parness (Toyota); Carol Pettit (Cobalt Institute); Alison Pridmore (Aether); Nazir Refa (ElaadNL); Michael Rex (IEA AFC TCP); Sandra Roling (The Climate Group); Matthieu Rubion (Enedis); Gen Saito (Nissan); Jon Salkeld (BP); Remzi Can Samsun (IEA AFC TCP); Gondia Sokhna Seck (IFP Energies nouvelles); Naotaka Shibata (TEPCO); Svend Soyland (Nordic Energy Research); Yuichiro Tanabe (Honda); Jón Ásgeir Haukdal Þorvaldsson (Government of Iceland); Takashi Tsutsumizaki (Honda); Oleg Tsilvik; Victor Valverde-Espinoza (Government of Costa Rica); Francesco Venturini (Enel); Christelle Verstraeten (ChargePoint); Cristina Victoriano (Government of Chile); Axel Volkery (EC); Nicholas Wagner (IRENA); Mark Wenzel (State of California); Martina Wikström (Government of Sweden) and Lulu Xue (World Resources Institute); Zheng Yali (SAE China).

IEA reviewers included Paul Simons, Laszlo Varro, Simon Bennett, Laura Cozzi, Apostolos Petropoulos, Siddarth Singh, Glenn Sondak, Dave Turk and Tiffany Vass. The report was edited by Debra Justus.

The development of this report was facilitated by contributions from EVI countries and the Hewlett Foundation for the co-ordination of the Electric Vehicles Initiative by the IEA.

Highlights

•Electric mobility is expanding at a rapid pace. In 2018, the global electric car fleet exceeded 5.1 million, up 2 million from the previous year and almost doubling the number of new electric car sales. The People’s Republic of China remains the world’s largest electric car market, followed by Europe and the United States. Norway is the global leader in terms of electric car market share.

•Policies play a critical role. Leading countries in electric mobility use a variety of measures such as fuel economy standards coupled with incentives for zeroand low-emissions vehicles, economic instruments that help bridge the cost gap between electric and conventional vehicles and support for the deployment of charging infrastructure. Increasingly, policy support is being extended to address the strategic importance of the battery technology value chain.

•Technology advances are delivering substantial cost cuts. Key enablers are developments in battery chemistry and expansion of production capacity in manufacturing plants. Other solutions include the redesign of vehicle manufacturing platforms using simpler and innovative design architecture, and the application of big data to right size batteries.

•Private sector response to public policy signals confirms the escalating momentum for electrification of transport. In particular, recent announcements by vehicle manufacturers are ambitious regarding intentions to electrify the car and bus markets. Battery manufacturing is also undergoing important transitions, including major investments to expand production. Utilities, charging point operators, charging hardware manufacturers and other power sector stakeholders are also boosting investment in charging infrastructure.

•These dynamic developments underpin a positive outlook for the increased deployment of electric vehicles and charging infrastructure. In 2030, in the New Policies Scenario, which includes the impact of announced policy ambitions, global electric car sales reach 23 million and the stock exceeds 130 million vehicles (excluding two/three-wheelers). In the EV30@30 Scenario, which accounts for the pledges of the EVI EV30@30 Campaign to reach 30% market

share for electric vehicles (EVs) by 2030 (excluding two/three-wheelers), EV sales reach 43 million and the stock is more than 250 million. Projected EV stock in the New Policies Scenario would cut demand for oil products by 127 million tonnes of oil equivalent (Mtoe) (about 2.5 million barrels per day [mb/d]) in 2030, while with more EVs in the EV30@30 Scenario the reduced oil demand is estimated at 4.3 mb/d. Electricity demand to serve EVs is projected to reach almost 640 terawatt-hours (TWh) in 2030 in the New Policies Scenario and 1 110 TWh in the EV30@30 Scenario.

•On a well-to-wheel basis, greenhouse gas (GHG) projected emissions from EVs will continue to be lower than for conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. In the New Policies Scenario, GHG emissions of the EV fleet reach almost 230 million tonnes of carbon-dioxide

equivalent (Mt CO2-eq) in 2030, offsetting about 220 Mt CO2-eq emissions. In the EV30@30 Scenario, the assumed trajectory for power grid decarbonisation is consistent with the IEA Sustainable Development Scenario and further strengthens GHG emission reductions from EVs.

•An average battery electric car and plug-in hybrid electric car using electricity characterised by the current global average carbon intensity (518 grammes of carbon-dioxide equivalent per

kilowatt-hour [g CO2-eq/kWh]) emit less GHGs than a global average ICE vehicle using gasoline over their life cycle. But the extent ultimately depends on the power mix: CO2 emissions savings are significantly higher for electric cars used in countries where the power generation mix is dominated by low-carbon sources. In countries where the power generation mix is dominated by coal, hybrid vehicles exhibit lower emissions than EVs.

•The EV uptake and related battery production requirements imply bigger demand for new materials in the automotive sector, requiring increased attention to raw materials supply. Traceability and transparency of raw material supply chains are key instruments to help address the criticalities associated with raw material supply by fostering sustainable sourcing of minerals. The development of binding regulatory frameworks is important to ensure that international multi-stakeholder co-operation can effectively address these challenges. The battery end-of-life management – including second-life applications of automotive batteries, standards for battery waste management and environmental requirements on battery design – is also crucial to reduce the volumes of critical raw materials needed for batteries and to limit risks of shortages.

•Absent adjustments to current transport-related taxation schemes, the increasing uptake of electric vehicles has the potential to change the tax revenue base derived from vehicle and fuel taxes. Gradually increasing taxes on carbon-intensive fuels, combined with the use of locationspecific distance-based charges can support the long-term transition to zero-emissions mobility while maintaining revenue from taxes on transportation.