4 Exciting Global EV Trends and Milestones

EVs Dominate Diesel in Europe

This week, the New York Times reported that in December 2021, European consumers purchased more electric vehicles than diesels, and EVs accounted for more than 20 percent of all new vehicle sales across Europe and Britain that month. This is particularly remarkable, given the fact that diesels accounted for more than half of new car purchases as late as 2015 in the EU, as well as the overall decline in the purchase of new vehicles.

An EV for Everyone

Variety is the spice of life, and for consumers in the market for a new car, now is an exciting and dynamic time to purchase their first electric vehicle. Just a few years ago, if one was in the market for an EV, their options were limited in terms of car type, class, and range.

But that’s quickly changing. These days, most top-selling newer EVs offer a battery range of at least 250 miles between charges, and that number will only continue to climb. In terms of type and class, if our LA Auto Show story is any indicator, an EV for nearly any use, taste, or lifestyle will be available in the next couple of years—if it isn’t already. Drivers are particularly excited about the electric pickup trucks on the horizon. This new Car and Driver article offers a fun rundown of what’s coming.

Charging Gets Supercharged

For those of us who have owned EVs for a while, we know firsthand that the charging game has changed. It’s not just the greater variety of electric cars that are helping them become mainstream—it’s also the increased practicality and efficiency of EV charging (something we are proud to play a role in!). Not only is charging getting faster and more accessible (with some chargers capable of delivering a charge of up to 350 kW), we are now seeing big companies like Shell converting entire gas stations to EV stations to meet the needs of their surrounding communities. Moreover, newer EVs, including the Hyundai Ioniq 5, are advancing to be able to accept these rapid charge rates while maintaining battery stability.

From Compliance to Platform

Last, but certainly not least, is the fact that electric vehicles are less and less frequently “token” or “compliance” vehicles developed by automakers to fulfill a policy obligation or appease a small group of consumers.

As the owner of a compliance EV (a 2012 Toyota RAV4 EV), which is overall a good car but has features and elements that were not designed intentionally or thoughtfully (more on that in a future post), I am encouraged to see more automakers developing dedicated battery platforms as a starting point to create a range of EVs. According to a recent piece in Triple Pundit, “Platforms allow scalability through modular design, leading to cost effectiveness and speed to market. And as customers increasingly want choices, it will be scalable platforms which will deliver them.”

Examples of such platforms include GM’s Ultium platform, Volkswagen’s Modular Electric Drive Matrix (MEB), and Hyundai’s GMP platform.

As an EV charging software company on a mission to accelerate electric vehicle adoption by making charging easy, reliable, and accessible to all, staffed by a team of EV enthusiasts in pursuit of a clean energy economy, we couldn’t be more excited by how rapidly electric vehicles are becoming mainstream.

When reading about global EV trends and milestones like those we discussed above, what are you most excited about?