There are a couple of interesting things to notice in the latest published research about electric car adoption, from the European Automobile Manufacturers' Asssociation (ACEA), the body that represents the 15 biggest European car, van, bus, and truck makers. One of them is that the Baltics are not doing overly well. Battery electric and plug-in hybrid cars made up 10.5% of all new cars sold in the EU last year. However, 10 member states still had a market share of lower than 3%, with both Estonia and Lithuania in that group and firmly in the bottom five of the EU countries. Another is that, according to the ACEA, the sales percentage of electric cars is clearly linked to a country's standard of living and directly to GDP per capita. The only obvious conclusion that you can draw from that is that affordability is a major issue that prevents people from buying electric when choosing a new car. “As is the case with the distribution of charging infrastructure, there is a clear split in the affordability of electric cars between Central-Eastern Europe and Western Europe, as well as a pronounced North-South divide,” stays Eric-Mark Huitema, ACEA Director General. Countries with a total electric car market share of less than 3% have an average GDP of below €17,000. This is the case for instance in Central and Eastern European countries as well as in Greece. What is more, the five countries with the lowest market uptake of electric cars also have very few charging points – under 1% of the EU total each. On the other hand, a market share of more than 15% for electric cars is only found in richer countries in Northern Europe with an average GDP of over €46,000. Almost three-quarters of all EU electric car sales are concentrated in four Western European countries with some of the highest GDPs (Sweden, the Netherlands, Finland and Denmark). The remaining quarter of sales is spread across 23 member states. Norway isn't an EU member so they don't count their figures, although they easily top the world tables and are increasing their electric car percentage at a rapid pace. As recent figures from the European Environment Agency show, the auto industry’s heavy investments in low-emission vehicles are paying off. With sales of electric cars trebling between 2019 and 2020, average CO2 emissions were down a record 12% last year. <img src="https://ekodiena.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/electric-cars-lower-income-countries-fall-behind-with-uptake-linked-to-gdp-per-capita_10000-1024x576.png" alt="" class="wp-image-3190" height="NaN" srcset="https://ekodiena.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/electric-cars-lower-income-countries-fall-behind-with-uptake-linked-to-gdp-per-capita_10000-1024x576.png 1024w, https://ekodiena.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/electric-cars-lower-income-countries-fall-behind-with-uptake-linked-to-gdp-per-capita_10000-300x169.png 300w, https://ekodiena.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/electric-cars-lower-income-countries-fall-behind-with-uptake-linked-to-gdp-per-capita_10000-200x112.png 200w, https://ekodiena.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/electric-cars-lower-income-countries-fall-behind-with-uptake-linked-to-gdp-per-capita_10000-768x432.png 768w, https://ekodiena.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/electric-cars-lower-income-countries-fall-behind-with-uptake-linked-to-gdp-per-capita_10000.png 1400w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /> Provided by ACEA Huitema states that “To continue this progress on the road to zero, the European Commission must now urgently ensure that all the right conditions are in place – and that no countries or citizens are left behind. Zero-emissions vehicles must be affordable and convenient for everyone.” Of course he is right, if we want to end the reliance on fossil fuels, then the alternatives have to be affordable for everyone, not just the highest earners. Europe’s auto makers are calling on governments to offer incentives to stimulate sales of electric vehicles, and binding infrastructure targets for each EU member state, but they also have to play their part by producing budget and mid-price electric cars that can compete on price with fossil-fuelled competitors.

The link between electric car sales and GDP per capita

John

The link between GDP and sales clearly isn't absolute though because Cyprus is at the very bottom and has by far the highest GDP per capita of the bottom five countries.

Piri

John

But as well an each country has it's own characteristics. So you can't take just numbers.

Ash

I think another important factor is grants/rebates and how easy it is to charge your electric car. It's important to have an accessible charging point all over the country because the last thing you want to worry about is finding a place to charge your car on a long journey.

Piri

Ash finding a place to charge your

It is not just the finding place but time as well. If you don't really drive long distance you can happily charge at home.

As well if you use it for a short distance mainly you can have a hybrid. So at least daily you can use electric mode and for the long distance regular.

Clementine

Ash I think another important factor is grants/rebates and how easy it is to charge your electric car. It's important to have an accessible charging point all over the country because the last thing you want to worry about is finding a place to charge your car on a long journey.

Yes. But Estonia is in the bottom 5 and it was the first country in the world to have the national network of chargers for electric cars.

From Wikipeida:

Estonia was the first country to deploy an EV charging network with nationwide coverage, with fast chargers available along highways at a maximum distance of 40 to 60 km (25 to 37 mi).[291][292]^As of December 2012, the nationwide network consisted of 165 fast chargers

Julie Brooks-Girskiene

I'm just thinking about the US and this wondering if this works here as well. I know that California has the biggest number of electric cars here by a big margin and also one of the highest GDP per capita.

Clementine

A big change is that in Europe it jumped up a lot last year, much much more than in the USA and China.

Treebeard

Clementine Yes. But Estonia is in the bottom 5 and it was the first country in the world to have the national network of chargers for electric cars.

That is really interesting. Was the network aimed at people in Estonia or people driving through the country is the question.

Ash

Clementine

Weird then. I guess the electric cars are either too expensive for many people in the country or they just haven't been promoted as strongly as they have been in other countries.

Piri

Treebeard

Cars bought in Estonia.

Treebeard

Piri Cars bought in Estonia.

I thought that it might be for Russian and Finnish travellers as much as that.

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