Electric vehicle sales see massive growth
Electric vehicle (EV) sales grew globally by 53% year-on-year to total over 10.2 million units in 2022.
According to Counterpoint’s Global Passenger Electric Vehicle Model Sales Tracker, battery EVs totalled 72% of all EV sales, while plug-in-hybrid EVs (PHEVS) accounted for the rest during Q4 2022.
Research Analyst Abhik Mukherjee said that EV sales reached an all-time high in Q4 2022 and that the total annual sales could have hit 11 million if China did not suffer a wave of Covid-19 infections at the end of the year.
Despite China’s difficult situation in 2022, Chinese brands still managed to record strong growth, with many expanding into Europe, Southeast Asia and Latin America.
Chinese Manufacturer BYD had the largest sales share for Q4 2022 (19.8%), with Elon Musk’s Tesla in second (12.1%).
However, Tesla’s Model Y was the best-selling EV globally, followed by the BYD Song.
BYD and Wuling had seven of the ten best-selling EV models in Q4 2022, highlighting China’s EV adoption.
Counterpoint said EVs are expected to reach nearly 17 million units in 2023.
“This year, the US EV sales will see a boost as models become slightly more affordable due to the $7,500 tax credit. The end of the purchase subsidy in China might push EV manufacturers to increase their prices… But these price hikes are unlikely to affect EV sales in one of the most matured EV markets.” senior analyst Soumen Mandal said.
Lithium prices are also expected to decline in the second half of 2023, benefiting EVs.
South Africa’s EV Market
South Africa’s electric vehicle market had a solid start to 2022.
“In the first three months of 2022, South Africa sold over 1,400 electric vehicles. This is more than 2020 and 2021 combined,” said the chief executive of MasterDrive, Eugene Herbert.
Despite the positive sales, Herbert warned that there are several challenges facing EV adoption in South Africa.
South Africa faces an energy crisis and lacks charging points along long-distance roads, with many South African motorists concerned that EVs cannot make long-distance trips.
Moreover, EVs are incredibly expensive, with the cheapest model – the Mini Cooper SE – having an asking price of R742,000.
Eskom said it would play a significant role in implementing electric vehicles in South Africa.
The embattled power utility wants to replace its entire fleet of conventional vehicles with EVs by 2040.
It also said that it had submitted the residential time-of-use (ToU) charging tariff to the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) for approval.
EV owners would receive significant savings when charging their cars during off-peak and standard periods, encouraging EV uptake in South Africa.
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