As the adoption of zero-emission vehicles (ZEV) accelerated this year across markets and vehicles, it is estimated that 60% more electric passenger vehicles, totaling 10.6 million, will be sold globally in 2022, BNEF’s 2022 Zero-Emission Vehicles Factbook published at the COP27 said.

The report, however, also notes that countries and automakers globally have much work at hand to phase out all polluting vehicles eventually.

Globally, over 13% of new car sales in the first half of 2022 were electric, an increase of 4.3% from last year’s sales.

The lithium-ion battery manufacturing capacity has increased by 38% since 2021, and the cumulative spending on clean road transport worldwide is set to exceed $450 billion this year.

The rapid global adoption has resulted in a significant reduction in oil consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. Electric Vehicles (EVs) this year are expected to cut down on the use of nearly 1.7 million of oil per day, up from 1.5 million barrels per day in 2021.

EVs are currently eliminating 152 million metric tons of CO2 annually, with the biggest contribution coming from electric two-and-three wheelers in Asia.

“The BNEF factbook shows that, despite the global energy crisis, the zero-emission vehicle transition has continued to accelerate since we launched the ZEV declaration at COP26. It also highlights that the ZEV transition is key to permanently ending our dependence on oil,” said COP26 President Alok Sharma.

Slow Progress in 2022 

The report cautions that progress on new commitments to ZEVs from automakers and governments has slowed over the past year.

The lead author of the report and head of BNEF’s electric vehicle research team, Aleksandra O’Donovan, noted a growing gap between wealthy and emerging economies on ZEV adoption. “While many of the indicators in this report are pointing in the right direction, most countries still have a long way to go before we can be confident that we are on track for a net-zero emission transport sector by mid-century,” stated O’Donovan.

Nigel Topping, U.N. Climate Change High-Level Champion for the UK, COP26, called upon more actors to come forth next year to make and implement ambitious commitments toward the transition to zero-emission vehicles and reap the benefits of cleaner air, jobs, economic growth, and keep up with the Paris Agreement goals.

In India, EV retail sales clocked 390,399 units in the first half (1H) of the calendar year 2022, a 333% year-over-year (YoY) growth compared to the 90,102 units sold in the same period last year.