“Lies, damned lies, and statistics” …..

There has been a lot of reporting recently of a slowdown in the market for EVs, but I think this is being misreported by many. You can use data to make whatever argument you like of course, that is the beauty of it. Despite a global cost of living crisis, the market for fully battery-powered EVs grew 36% from 2022 to 2023, not much of a slowdown. Most professionals would love to be working in a market that shows that level of growth.

Now you could compare growth of 70% from 2021 to 2022 and say there is a slowdown in growth, it’s true, it fell from 70% to 36%, it’s a useful way to use the statistics if you have a vested interest in hoping the EV market fails. However, it’s disingenuous to suggest that the EV market is slowing, it’s still growing rapidly, like every relatively new market, annual growth slows as the market grows in volume, and let’s face it, increasing volume is what counts.

That is not to say that there are not some major issues with the EV market, most notably pricing. More lower-cost vehicles are needed globally. The uptake of EVs in China has been phenomenal and has grown to more than half of all EVs sold globally in 2023. The primary reason for this is that transitioning from an ICE to an EV in China is a no-brainer as you can buy low-cost EVs, that are cheaper to fuel, require less maintenance, and don’t add to smog (unless you are charging them using electricity from a coal-fired power plant, although China is arguably the world leader in renewal energy use too).

Another issue continues to be charging infrastructure, this is improving rapidly, however. Charging station deployments increased 28% annually in 2023. The latest forecast from SAR Insight / DATAportl expects the installed base of EV charging stations to more than triple by 2031.

The automotive market largely understands that EVs are the future because of all the benefits to the consumer, most major OEMs are transitioning their business to EVs, and those that don’t will be swallowed up by the competition. Some are struggling, in an increasingly competitive market, which is ideal for those purchasing EVs but not so good for those providing high-cost EVs (which is a limited market).