2 cars out of 4 sold worldwide will be electric vehicles by 2030. American drivers, you have a catch -up to do
More than 40% of all the cars sold worldwide will be electric vehicles by 2030 – almost double the market share last year – thanks to the increase in the affordability of electric vehicles, according to a recent report from the International Energy Agency. However, the growth rate of sales of electric vehicles in the United States is lower than the global increase, with an increase of 10% in the past year. It is perhaps because, in the United States, electric vehicles cost 30% more than conventional vehicles on average, according to the IAI.
The AIE report suggests that, despite economic uncertainties in the United States and world markets, sales of electric vehicles will continue to rise as their price becomes more and more competitive with conventional vehicles.
Two -thirds of all electric cars sold in China last year were lower than their gas equivalents, according to the AIE report.
According to the American Research and Shopping Cargurus website, the average list price of a new EV in the United States (excluding direct brands to consumers like Tesla and Rivian) is about $ 63,985, against $ 47,627 for an internal combustion engine vehicle, and $ 48,449 for a hybrid. This price difference is greater here than in markets like China or the EU.
Cheaper electric vehicles arrive
Antuan Goodwin, EV writer at CNET, estimates that the average price of electric vehicles in the United States will drop as more electric vehicles are manufactured.
“The car manufacturers to whom I spoke of listing the economy of scale as the factor with the greatest potential to move the tarification needle of electric vehicles,” said Goodwin. “In China, adoption EV has greatly exceeded that of the United States. They simply sell more, which has lowered prices. While adoption EV is accelerating, I think we will see the price drop here too.”
Goodwin has added that cheaper electric vehicles also enter the American market.
“Until recently, there have been no real” entry -level “electric vehicles with bare specifications that lower prices,” said Goodwin. “It was all the bells and the whistles or nothing at all.
Infrastructure burden is a problem
Kevin Roberts, director of economic intelligence and market at Cargurus, said that EV load infrastructure had also slowed down sales of electric vehicles in the United States.
There is “a lack of fast and reliable load options,” said Roberts. “It becomes particularly difficult for those in rural and suburban regions which do not offer load networks which are also easily available for those of more urban areas.
“The United States will need significant upgrades for load networks and the larger electricity network to support the adoption of VE on a large scale,” added Roberts. “Although the number of load terminals increases, the coverage remains unequal-in particular for rapid chargers and in rural areas. We will also have to consider alternative solutions such as the exchange of batteries or the mobile load in the future. And beyond the chargers, the network itself will have to evolve to manage an increased load, which could require significant coordination of investments and policies.”
Roberts said that the pricing gap between electric vehicles and internal combustion engine vehicles is narrowed as battery costs are dropping and the competition increases. This narrowing could, however, be blocked with the Trump administration prices, the uncertainty around the future of tax credits on clean vehicles, the displacement of the manufacturer’s priorities around electric vehicles and the challenges of the supply chain.
Beyond the purchase price, electric vehicles are cheaper to operate than conventional gas vehicles, according to various reports. Consumer Reports indicated that electric vehicle drivers spend 60% less to supply their cars, and a report from the University of Michigan revealed that in average, the cost of feeding an EV was $ 485 per year, compared to $ 1,117 for gas vehicles. The US Energy Ministry also said that “the FI Mids moves 4.4 times further on a given amount of energy than the average petrol vehicle”.
More than 300,000 electric vehicles were sold in the United States from January to March, CNET reported last month, which represents an increase of 10% compared to the previous period in 2024. Although Tesla sales fell 9%, General Motors included sales of electric vehicles over 30,000 and models of new ACURA, Audi, Chevrolet, Honda and Porsche EV also helped EV sales in the United States.
One of the most striking aspects of the AIE report is the sharp increase in sales of EV trucks. Global sales increased by 80% in 2024, sales of EV trucks doubly in China, driven by operating costs which are much lower compared to diesel trucks.
