The International Energy Agency says while they can’t do the job alone, electric vehicles (EV) have an indispensable role to play in reaching Net Zero emissions worldwide.
Its 2021 Global Outlook found a record three million new electric cars were registered in 2020, a 41 per cent increase from the previous year. By comparison, the global automobile market contracted 16 per cent in 2020.
But IEA’s climate and energy goals call for even faster market uptake. ‘Governments should now be doing the essential groundwork to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles by using economic recovery packages to invest in battery manufacturing and the development of widespread and reliable charging infrastructure,’ says the Agency.
Trend 1: Upping the voltage
Volta Trucks, the electric commercial vehicle manufacturer and services provider, has revealed its forthcoming 7.5 and 12 tonne Volta Zero variants, the second product family in its full EV range.
The new commercial variant resembles the existing 16 tonne EV which is now undergoing engineering development and testing ahead of customer evaluation during 2022.
Having confirmed the start of the project in December 2021, a pilot fleet of vehicles is expected to be launched for customer trials in 2024, with series production due to commence in early 2025. The forthcoming 7.5 and 12 tonne vehicles will make a significant contribution to the company’s objective to sell over 27,000 per year by 2025, ideally increasing in the years beyond.
Essa Al-Saleh, Chief Executive Officer of Volta Trucks, said; “The forthcoming models complete the full electric Volta Zero product family.
“They’ll sit alongside our 16 tonne vehicle, that’s currently engaged in extensive testing ahead of the first customer use later this year, and the 18 tonne vehicle that will start production in mid 2023.”
Trend 2: Market side movement on the juice
HANetf, a European ETF issuer, is listing the Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Equity UCITS ETF on the London Stock Exchange, Deutsche Börse Xetra and Borsa Italiana. The ETF will be passported for sale across Europe.
HANetf says that with the world waking up to the risks posed by climate change, EV sales are soaring. In 2021 alone, global sales of EVs more than doubled.
But in order to sustain a required 600 million EVs on the road by 2040, today’s charging infrastructure will need to see a huge expansion. Market research projects that the global EV charging station market size is to grow six fold from 2022 to 2027.
Hector McNeil, co-CEO and co-Founder of HANetf said: “The future of cars is electric. In a few decades, from Shenzhen to San Francisco, it will become the norm to drive a battery powered vehicle.
“However, underpinning this revolution will be a huge build out of car charging capacity. Just as the growth of traditional cars in the 20th century required the building of gas and petrol stations, the electric car revolution in the 21st century will require abundant charging stations and home units.
“We are thrilled to be providing investors with a new thematic ETF to access this exciting growth area in the form of Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Equity UCITS ETF.”
Trend 3: Tesla dominate the market
Since several car manufacturers are still clambering away to supply the EV demand in Europe, this means that they aren’t offering a good amount of supply to the U.S. market. Automotive giants Tesla have also not had it completely their way when it comes to supply due to the high levels of demand however, their production has been on a level above many other manufactures.
In 2021, they came through with approximately 930,000 EVs with many having to wait a significant amount of time to receive their vehicles.
But now that has changed. Tesla have recently opened factories in Berlin and Austin to speed up production and enhance capacity. Additionally, the factory in Berlin will remove the need to haul vehicles from into Europe from other areas of the world where they have factories. As a result, this will benefit sales in the U.S. This will see Tesla dramatically rule the market and other manufacturers will need to fight back this year.
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Evidence for Change
There is plainly plenty of ongoing movement in the EV sector, and plenty of corporate opportunity. But 2021 BloombergNEF (BNEF) analysis agrees with IEA demands that governments aiming for Net Zero emissions must do more to spur adoption.
EVs represent a $7 trillion global market opportunity between today and 2030, and $46 trillion between now and 2050, but that won’t be enough. Assuming no additional policy measures, global sales of zero emissions passenger cars will rise from four per cent of the market in 2020 to 34 per cent globally by 2030.
But that number would have to be 60 per cent in 2030 in order for the road transport sector to reach Net Zero by 2050, the BNEF Electric Vehicle Outlook finds.