China's demand for electric vehicles doubles, making it the biggest and fastest growing EV market
Rising fuel prices have made electric vehicles a more attractive option than ever. A Canalys study shows that electric vehicles (EVs) have continued to grow in demand, with 4.2 million vehicles sold worldwide in the first half of 2022, 63% growth from the first half of 2021. The majority of electric vehicles were sold in mainland China with the US only constituting a tiny sliver of the market.
China has the largest and fastest-growing EV market in the world: 2.4 million EVs were delivered to customers in mainland China in H1 2022, equating to 26% of all car sales in China. In the first half of 2021, electric cars only made up 10% of China's car sales, meaning the demand doubled in one year.
"EV sales in mainland China more than doubled in H1 2022, and it is now by far the biggest EV market. 57% of global EV sales were in Mainland China. With 118% year-on-year growth, it is the fastest-growing market as well," said Jason Low, Principal Analyst at Canalys.
Europe doesn't trail too far behind, with 1.1 million EVs delivered in H1 2022, making up 20% of their car sales. Europe holds 27% of the global market sales for H1 2022. Despite making up a large share of the market, the EV sales in Europe have lost momentum, with a 4% growth in electric cars delivered to Europe since the first half of 2021.
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The US only made up 10% of the global electric vehicle market, with 413,000 vehicles sold in H1 2022. Despite making up such a small part of the market share, the US saw a 62% year-on-year growth, with electric vehicles representing 6% of all passenger vehicles delivered. In order for the US to see an expansion in the electric vehicle demand, more car manufacturers need to enter the electric vehicle market.
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"Despite the improved range of vehicle types and EVs from more brands, Tesla still accounted for almost 60% of sales in the US in H1 2022. Popular car brands in the US, such as Chevrolet, Ford, Honda, Jeep, Nissan and Toyota, currently sell very few EV models between them. The sooner this changes, the better, and the US EV share will grow," said Chris Jones, VP and Chief Analyst at Canalys.
The EV manufacturing leaders were BYD, Tesla, SAIC Motor, Volkswagen and Geely. It is worth noting that Chinese OEMs dominated electric vehicle manufacturing, with BYD, SAIC Motor and Geely being in the top five EV manufacturers.