In 2020, global electric car sales were higher than ever before. Despite the worldwide pandemic, electric vehicles (EVs) still garnered the attention of car shoppers.
Since the modern EV was introduced in the early 2010s, EVs have slowly trended upward. In fact, EVs in 2020 recorded the most sales and the largest market share ever. Here is the breakdown:
Overall, there were just over 2,300,000 global electric car sales in 2020 as reported by EV-Volumes. Compared to 2019, 2020 sales increased over 1,000,000 thanks to the success of the Tesla Model 3, Tesla Model Y, and Volkswagen ID.3.
Year over year, 2020 sales increased 6%, which again, continues the upward trend of years past. For context, the global market, which includes gas and diesel sales, decreased a staggering 18% per EIA. In other words, global sales decreased while EV sales increased despite COVID-19.
When looking at the global EV market share in 2020, the percent rose a modest amount to 4.2%. In other words, 1 in every 25 vehicles sold was electric.
When comparing the EV market share year over year, 2020 grew a substantial 40% from 2019. Again, this can be attributed to the Model 3, Model Y, and ID.3.
Considering the largest auto markets (China, Europe, and North America), electric car sales and market share rose in each. Most prominently, the European electric car market share rose significantly in 2020 to an astonishing 11%. In other words, 1 in 10 cars sold in Europe was electric. Stringent emission standards are likely the main contributing factor.
Looking at specific countries, the US is notably behind other countries in EV adoption such as the UK (23%), China (6%), and, especially, Norway (75%). You can read more about the US electric car sales and market share in 2020 here.
Norway reached a new EV market share record in 2020. Never before has a country sold more EVs than gas cars. Simply put, three out of four cars sold in 2020 in Norway were electric. It is highly likely Norway will be the first country in the world to reach 100% EV adoption by 2025.
As you can see in the chart below, across the board electric car market share is increasing rapidly each and every year.
