By 2020, World to Buy 1 Million EVs a Year

Regardless of the name of the institution or organization doing a study on the future impact of electric vehicles, the conclusion seems to be the same: EVs will catch on, slowly, but once they do, the sky will be the limit. All these reports, filed throughout the past two years, also agree that by the end of the decade, some 1 million electric vehicles will be sold each year in the entire world.

Advanced Automotive Batteries, a technology and market assessments company, says that the adoption of the EV as a car for everyday use will be progressive, with the numbers pointing to 150,000 units sold next year, 400,000 in 2015 and some 1 million by 2020.

During the same year, EVs, regardless of their type, would make up for 1.5 percent of the entire global automotive market, meaning one in 70 cars (estimated auto market for 2020 at 85 million units). That would mean significant profit for battery manufacturers, who will see these type of vehicles driving their business to $11 billion in 2020 (last year, the lithium-ion battery market was worth only $320 million).

As for the distribution of the different types of electric vehicles, Pike Research reported earlier this year that by the middle of the decade, battery electric vehicles (BEVs) will be more popular in countries in the Asia Pacific region and Europe, while the Americans will go for plug-in hybrids.

By the time the calendar will read 2015, there will be roughly 1 million electric vehicles on the roads around the world, estimated Pike. No estimation after that date was made by Pike Research.