Electric car sales have now been growing at over 100% a year for at least the past 4 years.
At the end of 2010, just 25,000 battery-electric, plug-in hybrid electric, and extended-range electric vehicles had been registered globally. By the end of 2011 approximately 80,000 had been registered, and approximately 200,000 by the end of 2012. That figure had climbed to 405,000 by the end of 2013, Zachary Shahan has reported.
In terms of numbers, the Nissan LEAF is the clear world leader so far. That’s not surprising, as prices have dropped significantly in a number of markets recently, and it has proven itself well in different markets over time. However, GM/Opel and Toyota are giving Nissan a run for its money, as you can see from the graph, here.
We’ve written numerous posts about the rise and rise of Tesla Motors, and it’s no surprise production and sales have been growing rapidly, even though its popular and critically acclaimed Model S is undoubtedly a luxury car. It’ll be interesting to see what happens in the market when Tesla eventually manufactures its planned mass-market model.
Many of the other big car companies are not yet fully committed to the electric vehicle market just yet, so it’s still very early days for electric cars. However, with the numbers growing as they are, it surely won’t be long before most car companies start to manufacture a growing variety of electric models. Increasingly, they won’t want to miss out on a decent slice of the action. There is likely to be a lot of choice for electric car buyers in the not-too-distant future.
Image CC licensed by Robert Couse -Baker
Via Zachary Shahan for Treehugger
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