• News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
  • News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
Sign up Now (For Free)

Sign up for our newsletter and receive the latest automotive news in your inbox!

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Thanks for subscribing!
News
Read Now
  • All News
  • Automakers
  • Automobiles
  • Auto Shows
  • Business
  • EVs & Environment
  • Guides
  • Lawsuits/Legal
  • Regulatory
  • Ride-Sharing
  • Safety & Recalls
  • Technology
Recent
  • The Rearview Mirror: All That the Name Implies
  • Top Tips for Improving EV Range in Cold Weather
  • Mercedes is First Automaker to Offer True Level 3 Hands-Free Driving System in the U.S.
  • Audi Introduces Fourth “Sphere” Concept: Activesphere
  • Jaguar Land Rover Posts First Profitable Quarter in Two Years
  • Musk Confirms Cybertruck Production Tracking for End of 2023
  • Polestar Raises its Game with the 2024 Polestar 2
  • Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda Steps Down, Hands Reins to Lexus Chief Koji Sato
  • Environmental Groups Chide GM for ICE Investments
  • Tesla Sets New Financial Benchmarks, But Misses Analysts Targets
Editor’s Choice
    Reviews
    Read Now
    • All Reviews
      • Feeder
    • Classic Cars
    • Concept Cars
    • Convertibles
    • Coupes
    • Crossovers/CUVs
    • Diesel
    • Hot hatches
    • Hybrids
    • Luxury Vehicles
    • Minivans
    • Muscle Cars
    • Pickups
    • Sedans
    • Sports Cars
    • Super Cars
    • SUVs
    Recent Reviews
    • A Week With: 2023 Ford F-150 Raptor R 4x4 Super Crew
    • A Week With: 2023 Genesis Electrified G80 AWD
    • A Week With: 2023 Land Rover Defender 110 V-8
    • First Drive: 2023 Honda Pilot TrailSport
    • A Week With: 2023 Jaguar F-Type R Coupe
    • A Week With: 2023 GMC Yukon Denali Ultimate
    • A Week With: 2023 Genesis GV60 Performance
    • A Week With: 2023 Chevrolet Suburban Z71
    • A Week With: 2023 Lexus UX 250h F Sport
    • A Week With: 2023 Mercedes-Benz EQB 300 4Matic
    Editor’s Choice
      Guides
      Car Warranty
      • Endurance Warranty Reviews
      • BMW Extended Warranty
      • Extended Warranty For Cars Over 100k Miles
      • Extended Car Warranty Cost
      • Subaru Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Reviews
      • CarShield Cost
      • Aftermarket Car Warranty
      • CARCHEX Warranty Reviews
      • Reputable Extended Car Warranty Companies
      • Used Car Warranty Companies
      • Best Car Warranty
      • Is CarShield A Scam?
      • Mercedes Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Plans
      Insurance
      • How To Identify A Car Insurance Company
      • Geico Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • How Far Back Does A Car Insurance Company Look
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance For Used Cars
      • State Farm Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance From Progressive
      • Dollar A Day Insurance
      • Auto Insurance For SSI Recipients
      • Car Insurance Rates After A Suspended License
      • Auto Insurance For Salvage Vehicles
      • Average Cost of Dodge Ram 1500 Car Insurance
      • Car Insurance Florida
      • Full Coverage Auto Insurance
      • GrubHub Insurance
      • Amazon Delivery Auto Insurance
      Shipping
      • Car Shipping Companies
      • uShip Reviews
      • Auto Shipping From California To Hawaii
      • Montway Auto Transport Reviews
      • Cheap Car Shipping
      • Easy Auto Ship Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Miami
      • Auto Shipping To Alaska
      • Car Shipping Cost
      • Auto Shipping Hawaii
      • Auto Shipping Puerto Rico
      • Sherpa Auto Transport Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Atlanta
      • Auto Shipping Boston
      • Auto Shipping. Chicago
      About
      • About Us
      • Contact Us
      • Terms of Use
      • Privacy Policy
      • Affiliate Disclosure
      • Sitemap
      TheDetroitBureau.com

      More than just “another” place to find news, reviews, spy shots, commentary, features, and guides about the auto industry. TheDetroitBureau doesn’t stop with the press releases or confuse a few lines of opinion with insightful, in-depth reporting.

      Contact Us

      Like what you see? Have some ideas for making The Detroit Bureau.com even better? Let us know, we’d love to hear your voice.

        Media
        Listen Now
        • Headlight News: All Episodes
        More from TheDetroitBureau
        • Guides
        • Latest News
        • Auto Reviews
        • Podcasts
        Headlight News

        TheDetroitBureau.com’s Headlight News offers a look at the past week’s top automotive news stories, as well as what’s coming up in the week ahead. Check out the week’s top story and our latest review…along with a dive into the past with this week in automotive history.

        home > news > Automakers > EVs at the Tipping Point? Global Sales Could Surge 25% to 1.6m in 2018

        EVs at the Tipping Point? Global Sales Could Surge 25% to 1.6m in 2018

        Nearly 200 electrified vehicles already on the market.

        Paul A. Eisenstein
        Paul A. Eisenstein , Publisher & Editor-in-Chief
        June 05, 2018
        Automakers are planning to launch as many as 400 electrified vehicles by decade's end, including an all-electric version of the upcoming Maserati Alfieri.

        After a painfully slow start, sales of electrified vehicles finally seem to be gaining some desperately needed traction, a new study suggesting global sales of hybrids, plug-ins and pure battery-electric vehicles will reach 1.6 million this year, a 25% increase from 2017.

        The shift comes at a critical time for the auto industry considering even manufacturers like Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, long skeptical of battery-based technologies, are ramping up production plans. About 165 models are already available in various markets worldwide, according to the study by London-based ReportBuyer, and that will grow to “more than 400 models” by 2025.

        We're Clearing the Air!

        “If all the announcements made so far were to come true, there will be about 25 million EVs sold by 2025 or 20% of all cars sold would be EVs,” the electrified vehicle study forecast. While that includes a mix of different products, many of which combine gas and electric powertrains on one platform, other studies have forecast that BEVs alone could account for 20% of the total world vehicle market by 2030.

        Several factors appears to be helping drive demand, including tough new emissions and mileage regulations, improved range, falling prices and a rapid expansion of the public charging network. The charging stations market, according to a second ReportBuyer study, will surge from an estimated $5.3 billion this year to $30.4 billion by 2023.

        Despite production problems, the Tesla Model 3 is now America's best-selling plug-based vehicle.

        (FCA planning to plug in. Click Here for the story.)

        Worldwide, the first of the ReporrtBuyer studies notes that China is leading the charge with a 48% share of total sales. That’s no surprise considering that country now views battery technology as a critical tool in its effort to reduce endemic smog problems. Recently enacted regulations are expected to yield significant increases in sales of plug-based models, in particular.

        Europe currently holds a 26% share. And there, demand could surge in the coming years, as tougher regulations go into effect. A number of countries, including Germany, are cracking down on the diesels that have long been seen as a way to reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. Norway, meanwhile, is the first European country to enact an outright ban on sales of vehicles using internal combustion engines, starting in the middle of the coming decade. And several other countries, including the UK, France, and even Germany, are considering similar moves.

        The U.S. ranks number three in the sales charts — with all forms of battery-based models accounting for a mere 3% of new vehicle sales in 2017. And it is uncertain how fast demand will grow. Though it has also begun surging at double-digit levels, that could be short-circuited by the Trump Administration which, last week, took the next step towards rolling back the strict Corporate Average Fuel Economy standard enacted by the Obama Administration.

        The Chevy Bolt was one of Consumer Reports 10 best vehicles when it came out.

        But some manufacturers have said they expect to make few changes to their plans, even if the proposed CAFE revision survive the expected legal challenge, in part because of shifting consumer demand, as well as the likelihood that the rules could be reinstated if a Democrat reclaims the White House in 2020.

        At the moment, conventional hybrids are the top sellers among electrified models, but among plug-based vehicles, all-electric models are outselling plug-in hybrids. Tesla, in particular, help three of the top five sales spots among plug-based vehicles for the first four months of 2017, led by the California automaker’s new Model3.

        (Click Here for details about the new Tesla hypermiling records.)

        Through the end of April, Tesla delivered 12,055 Model 3 battery-sedans, compared to the second-ranked Toyota Prius Prime, with sales of 9,094. The Tesla Model S was third, with 6,550 sold, followed by Chevrolet’s Bolt EV, at 5,650, and the Tesla Model X wrapping up the top five with sales of 5,525.

        If anything, Tesla’s sales have been severely restricted by ongoing problems with the company’s Gigafactory battery plant in Reno, Nevada – which is currently operating at barely 35% of planned capacity, according to company data – and the Tesla assembly plant in Fremont, California.

        That factory has faced what CEO Elon Musk has described as “production hell” since the Model 3 launched in July 2017. The company originally hoped to produce about 400,000 of its first mainstream models this year but managed to get output up to barely 2,000 a week as of the end of the first quarter. It has now set a goal of reaching 6,000 a week by the end of the second quarter or early in the third.

        Tesla's Model S is the fourth-best selling EV in the U.S.

        But the longer it takes, analysts warn, the more likely Tesla will face serious competition from 11 carmakers who have announced major EV programs. Just last week, FCA announced plans to roll out 30 electrified models during its next five-year cycle, including hybrids, plug-ins and BEVs. Those models will range from a new version of Its all-electric Fiat 500 to a 700-horsepower plug-in hybrid Alfa Romeo supercar.

        The upbeat ReportBuyers study forecasts that one reason for growing demand will be that EVs “are likely to cost the same as conventional cars by 2020 which will be a huge threat to the conventional car industry.”

        Perhaps, but FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne last week warned that automakers will still have to subsidize their products, the Euro-American automaker expecting that over the next five years it will only be able to recover 60% of the premium required to switch from IC engines to electric propulsion.

        (To see more about how dealers are hampering EV sales, Click Here.)

        A Boston Consulting Group study released last December estimated that the factory cost for battery-based propulsion systems will continue falling in the coming decade, but that price parity likely don’t be reach until 2025, at the earliest.

        How to Care for Your Car

        Cheap Car Warranty

        Editor's Choice

        Best Extended Car Warranty

        Editor's Choice
        Recently Published

        The Rearview Mirror: All That the Name Implies

        Yesterday
        GMC Hummer SUT winter testing

        Top Tips for Improving EV Range in Cold Weather

        Jan. 27, 2023
        Mercedes Drive Pilot Nevada driving

        Mercedes is First Automaker to Offer True Level 3 Hands-Free Driving System in the U.S.

        Jan. 27, 2023

        Leave a Reply Cancel reply

        Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

        Share this article:
        © The Detroit Bureau 2023
        • Guides
        • Privacy Policy
        • Terms of Use
        • Affiliate Disclosure
        • Contact Us
        • Sitemap
        Follow Us: