Combustion cars lose space and 74 million EVs will be sold per year by 2050

More than 950 million EVs (electric vehicles) will be on the roads around the world in the next 30 years, according to a study carried out by the British consultancy Wood Mackenzie. To this end, the company estimates that around 74 million more units will be sold per year until 2050. In the first quarter of 2021 alone, the consultancy's report indicated that sales soared to 550, an increase of 66% compared to the same period last year.

“EV sales have increased in all major regions. Our forecast shows that by 2050, 54% of EVs will be on APAC (Asia-Pacific) roads, with North America and Europe following closely at 23% and 20% respectively,” said Ram Chandrasekaran, chief of Road Transport in Wood Mackenzie.

The participation of electric vehicles in the market also increased from 2,9% to 4,5% year on year. According to the expert, this is an extremely positive sign for adoption trends. “EVs will surpass sales and inventory of traditional ICEs (internal combustion engines) in 2033 and 2044, respectively,” he highlighted.

For Adalberto Maluf, BYD's marketing and sustainability director, when it comes to electric mobility, the world is currently undergoing a much faster revolution than had been planned. “The approval of the European green package (a set of policies and strategies to contain global warming) caused sales in Europe to jump from 3% in January to an average of 23% in December last year. Germany, for example, ended the year with 27% of EV sales,” he commented.

To give you an idea, the executive stated that the world reached 10 million electric cars sold last year. “BYD celebrated 1 million electrified cars sold, that is, we sell 10% of the market as a whole”.

“Regarding buses, the world reached 600 sold – which means that a third of the buses sold are already electric. In the case of BYD, we reached 15% of the entire market share of these vehicles sold”, concluded Maluf.

Is this the end of combustion vehicles?

The Wood Mackenzie study also found that internal combustion engine cars are in terminal decline, accounting for just 20% of new car sales by 2050. The research also indicated that countries accounting for more than 50% of global vehicle sales have expressed their intention to be carbon neutral and phase out internal combustion engines.

“China, the leader in EV sales, plans to phase out traditional ICE cars by 2035. Meanwhile, almost all major automakers have set carbon neutral targets, most consolidating around 2050,” the analyst emphasized.

Amid this scenario, Tesla leads sales of 100% electric cars, with just over half a million sold in 2020. Automakers GM (General Motors) and Volkswagen are competing for second place.

Read more: Volkswagen starts producing 100% electric trucks in Brazil

For the head of Road Transport at Wood Mackenzie, almost half of the remaining global ICE stock in 2050 will be in Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, Russia and the Caspian regions – although they represent only 18% of the global vehicle stock.