Global EV Outlook 2019 |
1. Status of electric mobility |
installed were fast chargers. In China, almost half of the newly installed publicly accessible chargers were fast, whereas in Europe and the United States a large majority were slow chargers.
Figure 1.4. Electric car stock and publicly accessible chargers by country, 2018
Electric car stock |
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Publicly accessible slow chargers |
Publicly accessible fast chargers |
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China |
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5.1 million |
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395 000 chargers |
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144 000 chargers |
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Japan |
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1% 0.6% |
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10% |
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13% |
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1% |
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8% |
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United States |
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2% |
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3% |
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2% |
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United Kingdom |
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5% |
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9% |
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41% |
3% |
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3% |
45% |
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5% |
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Germany |
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3% |
3% |
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4% |
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6% |
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France |
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6% |
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Norway |
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22% |
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4% |
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5% |
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78% |
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5% |
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13% |
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Netherlands |
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Other
Sources: IEA analysis based on country submissions, complemented by Chinabaogao (2019) and EAFO (2019).
Half of the publicly accessible chargers in the world and over three-quarters of the fast chargers are installed in China.
The global number of publicly accessible chargers per electric car has decreased from 0.14 in 2017 to 0.11 at the end of 2018. This ratio remains higher than 1 charger per 10 electric cars, which is recommended by the European Union Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Directive (EC, 2014). Many leading countries in terms of electric car deployment remain below the global average of 1 charger per 10 electric cars: this is the case in Norway and the United States, with a ratio of 1 charger per 20 electric cars. Conversely, the Netherlands and Denmark have a relatively high number of publicly accessible chargers per electric car (about 1 charger per 4-8 electric cars). Therefore the need for extensive publicly accessible charging infrastructure as a prerequisite for EV deployment is not automatic; it depends on specific country features, such as population density (availability of access to home charging for each EV driver), access to workplace charging infrastructure and vehicle range. These country trends were identified and discussed in greater detail in the Global EV Outlook 2018 report, where observations made for 2017 remain valid in 2018 (IEA, 2018a).
Small electric vehicles for urban transport
Stock and sales
Two/three-wheelers
The electric two-wheeler market is led by China, which produced 26 million in 2018 and had an estimated 250 million units in circulation (askci, 2019; IEA, 2018a).19 This is over one-quarter of the global motorised two-wheeler stock (IEA, 2019b) of almost 800 million units, mostly in
19 This section excludes electric bicycles.
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IEA. All rights reserved.
Global EV Outlook 2019 |
1. Status of electric mobility |
circulation in China, India and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).20 In Viet Nam, about 0.9 million electric two-wheelers were in circulation (UITP, 2017). In India, 0.1 million electric two-wheelers were sold in fiscal year (FY) 2018-19 and the fleet size reached 0.6 million (SMEV, 2019). Electric two-wheelers in European cities are mostly via shared rental schemes. The two largest operators, Coup and Cityscoot, have deployed 8 400 electric twowheelers in Paris, Berlin and Madrid (Greis, 2019; Cityscoot, 2018).
The stock of electric three-wheelers exceeds 50 million in China and about 2.38 million in India (China News, 2018; SMEV, 2019).
In China, two-thirds of two-wheelers in circulation have limited but sufficient performance: 0.5-0.8 kilowatt-hour (kWh) batteries deliver around 50 km of range at low-speed (typically 20-25 km per hour [km/h] max speed). These characteristics make them well-suited for circulating in dense cities and allow them to have modest prices (around USD 400 [United States dollars]) and to compete with gasoline powered alternatives (IEA, 2018b). In China, electric two-wheelers are often exempt from vehicle registration and have the right to use bicycle lanes, while some cities have banned conventional gasoline two-wheelers from urban centres (Cherry, 2010). These characteristics and regulations were major drivers for rising demand for electric two-wheelers in China that is higher than in other Asian markets (IEA, 2018a). However, several Chinese cities are banning low-speed electric vehicles in an attempt to improve road safety (BBC, 2016).21 Furthermore, regulations to cap the production capacity of manufactures for low-speed electric vehicles may further affect their sales (Government of China, 2018). These policies have been dampening demand for electric two-wheelers in China since 2014 (Ren, 2019).
In India, the sales of 0.1 million electric two-wheelers in FY 2018-19 doubled the volume from the previous year (SMEV, 2019). Electric two-wheeler sales make up less than 1% of the vehicle market share, but purchase subsidies have stimulated their uptake. The first phase of the Faster Adoption and Manufacture of (Hybrid and) Electric Vehicles (FAME) scheme grants a rebate of INR 7 500 – 22 000 (Indian rupees, USD 110 – 320) for the purchase of 62 eligible models from 11 OEMs.22 About 40% of the eligible models are low-speed (25 km/h max) and they represent 80% of electric two-wheelers sales (SMEV, 2019). Similar to the models in China, they typically use a lead-acid battery and do not require a driving licence or vehicle registration. However, this category of electric two-wheelers has been excluded from FAME since the scheme's revision (FAME II) in February 2019 and their share within electric two-wheeler sales decreased from 90% to 80% from FY 2017-18 to FY 2018-19 (Autoportal, 2019; SMEV, 2019).
The two-wheeler market in the ASEAN countries is the third-largest after China and India, with sales of about 10 million in 2018. The market share of low-speed vehicles is negligible and there are no policies to discourage use of gasoline two-wheelers. As a result, sales of electric twowheelers remain low compared to the total two-wheeler market size. For example, in Viet Nam there are about 0.9 million low-speed electric two-wheelers in its overall two-wheeler fleet of more than 40 million (UITP, 2017). Sales of full-size electric two-wheelers in Viet Nam increased
20Association of Southeast Asian Nations includes: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam.
21These new measures affect the electric two-wheelers as well as low-speed electric vehicles, another China-specific phenomenon, discussed in the next section.
22The subsidy eligibility depends on battery size, with the models having larger batteries being eligible for a higher subsidy (National Automotive Board, 2019). Note that in the newly adopted phase 2 of the FAME scheme, low-speed electric two-wheelers (<25 km/h) are excluded from subsidies (Government of India, 2019) .
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IEA. All rights reserved.
Global EV Outlook 2019 |
1. Status of electric mobility |
after such models were introduced and there are an estimated 6 000 full-size electric twowheelers in circulation (NNA, 2018). In Thailand, there are just over 1 000 full-size electric twowheelers registered (Government of Thailand, 2019). Fleet size of electric two-wheelers in Indonesia is about 3 000 (Solidiance, 2018).
Fleet operators of shared rental schemes have brought electric two-wheelers to European cities, with about 1 500 units in Berlin, 1 300 in Madrid and 5 600 in Paris from the two operators Coup and Cityscoot (Greis, 2019; Cityscoot, 2018). Users can rent the full-size electric twowheelers via smartphone apps. Rentals are billed per time of use and there are no designated rental stations, which allow users to end journeys at a different place than the departure point. The modal share of two-wheelers remains small in European cities compared to passenger cars and public transit. Nonetheless, the availability of electric two-wheelers in the shared rental fleets complements existing transport modes and provides opportunities to experience electric mobility.
The stock of electric three-wheelers is concentrated in China, with more than 50 million, and in India. Government limits for production capacity for any type of low-speed electric vehicle in China is depressing growth in the electric three-wheeler market. In India there are over 2 million electric three-wheelers in operation and annual sales reached 630 000 units in FY 2018-19. The FAME programme provides purchase subsidies for eight electric three-wheeler models, further supporting the market (National Automotive Board, 2019).
Box 1. 3. Electric foot scooters: the new paragon of shared micro-mobility
Shared “free-floating” electric foot scooters have been flourishing in major cities in the world since 2017.23 In one year, the first company active in this sector, Bird, surpassed 10 million rides in over 100 cities, mostly in the United States and Europe (Dickey, 2019). In Paris, eight companies were operating electric foot scooters at the beginning of 2019, just six months after the first shared electric foot scooter was deployed in the
city by Lime in June 2018 (Landais Barrau, 2019). These schemes now exist in around 129 cities in the United States, 30 in Europe, 7 in Asia and 6 in Australia and New Zealand.24 Their presence, so far, is extremely limited in Asian cities, possibly because of the domination of free-floating shared two/three-wheeler schemes for a few years (Lipton, 2017), which already serve similar mobility
needs as electric foot scooters.
23The use of free-floating electric foot scooters is via a smartphone app. Battery recharging is done at night, either by the operator which collects and charges them in depots, or by individuals paid for charging the products at home, under an agreement with the operator (Bird, 2018).
24The figures have been determined based on data from 13 companies on their official websites (Lime, Bird, JUMP (Uber), Lyft.
Skip, Spin (Ford), ScootNetworks, Bolt (Taxify), Beam, VOI, Neuron mobility, Hopr, TIER). This list aims to cover a large portion of the global market, but may not be exhaustive.
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IEA. All rights reserved.
Global EV Outlook 2019 |
1. Status of electric mobility |
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The success of electric foot scooters probably lies in the fact that this mode is well-suited to meet the “last-mile” challenge. The last-mile represents a trip that is too short to be undertaken with a bus or car ride, but rather long to walk. In San Francisco, for example, customers of the company Bird report riding on average 2.5 km per trip. It is longer than the average distance made on foot (around 1.5 km) and shorter than the average distance made by car (around 3.7 km) (Kaufman and Buttenwieser, 2018). Lime reports that 30% of their customers have displaced a car trip, during their most recent use of the shared electric foot scooter service (Lime, 2018). This type of use may very well conflict with the use of ride-sharing services for relatively short rides. Consequently, shared mobility operators initially operating in the ride-hailing segment, such as Uber and Lyft, are diversifying their services to include electric foot scooters and become increasingly involved in all aspects of the shared mobility systems (O'Brien, 2018).
However, the rapid expansion of shared electric foot scooters has posed some challenges to the cities concerned. They include: an uncontrolled number of units being deployed by new companies in the public space (to be shared with multiple road and sidewalk users) without co-ordination with public authorities; reports of accidents due to the potential high top speed of the foot scooters (up to 24 km/h); obstacles for the blind from random scooter parking (Boche, 2019); the lack of regulations for conditions of use (Githiru, 2018)25 and the ability to adapt the existing regulations for a new transport mode. As a result, an increasing number of cities are implementing stricter regulations to monitor and control the use of electric foot scooters, with the aim to maximise their benefits to urban dwellers and mitigate adverse effects. For example, in Washington DC, in early 2019 the Department of Transportation capped the number of units per free-floating shared vehicle type per company to 600, with the possibility to request an allowance for 25% additional units four times a year. The maximum speed of the scooters has been limited to 16 km/h (Delgadillo, 2018). In Paris, the city council has decided to charge free-floating shared mobility companies for the commercial use of public space.26 This aims to regulate shared electric twowheelers as well as shared bikes and electric foot scooters. For electric foot scooters, the fee will reach EUR 50 (Euros, USD 56) per unit per year for the operator. A longer term strategy of the Paris municipality is to establish dedicated "drop-off" spots, instead of a fully free-floating system, placed every 150 metres at former roadside car parking spots (Blaquière, 2019). This aims to limit conflicts of public space use with micro-mobility modes crowding sidewalks.
Low-speed electric vehicles
The market for low-speed electric vehicles (LSEVs)27 is concentrated in China, where it has emerged as an alternative to small urban vehicles and passenger cars because size and speed
25In many instances, cities saw the number of electric foot scooters surge within just a few weeks. Often this was in the absence of established regulations regarding their use on sidewalks, in bike and bus lanes, roads or urban highways and no guidelines on the use of a helmet or other protective equipment. Some countries have regulations banning the use of motorised foot scooters in all public spaces (including sidewalks, roads and public parks), which has deterred most operators from launching electric foot scooter initiatives despite their success in other European cities. The United Kingdom is one of these cases. Despite this, some free-floating shared electric scooters were deployed in London, but only in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park area (Parsons, 2018).
26This should be enforced before mid-2019.
27LSEVs are small vehicles with four wheels and a maximum speed of around 40-70 km/hr with relatively short electric driving ranges.
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