Global electric vehicle sales surpassed the historic 20 million unit milestone in a single calendar year for the first time, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), representing a 35% year-on-year increase and cementing the EV transition as unstoppable. China accounted for 11 million of those sales, followed by Europe at 4.5 million and the United States at 2.8 million.
The surge in sales has been driven by a combination of expanding model choice, falling battery prices โ which have dropped 60% in five years โ and increasingly aggressive government incentive programmes. Over 60 countries now offer some form of EV purchase subsidy or tax incentive.
Battery costs have fallen below $80/kWh for the first time, a threshold widely considered to make EVs price-competitive with internal combustion engine vehicles without subsidies in many market segments. Analysts predict full price parity across all vehicle segments by 2027.
