Prepared by Dale Hall, Hongyang Cui, Marie Rajon Bernard, Shuyang Li, Nic Lutsey
This briefing provides an update on the 25 largest electric passenger vehicle markets
worldwide, which together represent 40% of global cumulative electric vehicle sales.
The paper examines electric vehicle uptake, charging infrastructure, planning, goals,
and policies among the top electric markets to discern lessons on the global transition
to electric mobility.
INTRODUCTION
The transition to electric mobility continues in major markets across the world, spurred
by strong government policy, technological development, increasing model availability,
and consumer demand. Figure 1 displays the growth in electric passenger vehicle sales
by market from 2010 to 2019, when global sales exceeded 2.25 million.1
At the same
time, the global share of new passenger vehicles that are plug-in electric increased to
approximately 3%. China is the largest electric vehicle market globally and accounted
for half of all 2019 sales, followed by Europe, the United States, and Japan.2 Although
there are uncertainties about how the industry and the market will respond to the 2020
pandemic and economic recovery, the electric vehicle market, particularly in Europe, has fared better than combustion vehicles through mid-2020
Global electric passenger vehicle sales by market from 2010 to 2019.
This sustained growth in electric vehicle sales has been made possible in part by
the actions of national governments, including electric vehicle regulations, vehicle
emissions standards, financial incentives, and industrial policy. Yet, within each of these
markets, electric vehicle uptake varies widely, with particular regions and cities setting
stronger targets and achieving higher electric vehicle adoption. Through 2018, the 25
metropolitan areas with the most electric vehicles made up 42% of the global market.4
Deeper analyses of the United States and Europe also reveal the role of major cities in
developing policies and building the mainstream electric vehicle market.5
This briefing analyzes the contribution of major cities to the global electric vehicle
market and the factors behind the success of these cities. We identify the 25 cities with
the most cumulative electric passenger vehicles through 2019, which we call “electric
vehicle capitals”: Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Guangzhou, Tianjin, Qingdao,
Zhengzhou, Changsha, Liuzhou, Weifang, Wuhan, Chongqing, and Xi’an in China;
Tokyo, Japan; Oslo and Bergen, Norway; Paris, France; London, United Kingdom;
Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Stockholm, Sweden; and Los Angeles, San Francisco,
San Jose, and New York in the United States. This list of electric vehicle capitals is
unchanged from the previous year, with one exception. Liuzhou, an industrial city in
southwestern China, replaced San Diego and made its debut in the list, a result of its
distinctive policy efforts.6
For each of these 25 cities, we assess electric vehicle sales patterns, charging
infrastructure deployment, and local promotion actions. Although the markets are
named by their major cities, the data for the cities include the broader surrounding
metropolitan areas in order to reflect household travel patterns, charging
infrastructure, and policy (except in China, where city boundaries are larger). Unless
otherwise noted, this briefing focuses on passenger vehicles, which represent the