Electric car use by country

Electric car use by country varies worldwide, as the adoption of plug-in electric vehicles is affected by consumer demand, market prices, availability of charging infrastructure, and government policies, such as purchase incentives and long term regulatory signals (ZEV mandates, CO2 emissions regulations, fuel economy standards, and phase-out of fossil fuel vehicles).

The popularity of electric vehicles has been expanding rapidly due to government subsidies, improving charging infrastructure, their increasing range and lower battery costs, and environmental sensitivity.

[11] As of December 2023[update], China had the largest stock of highway legal plug-in passenger cars with 20.4 million units, almost half of the global fleet in use.

[280] As of September 2015[update], 2,214 hybrid and electric vehicles were registered in the state of São Paulo[283] In March 2013, the first two Leafs were deployed in Rio de Janeiro to operate as taxis.

[306][307] In October 2016, Quebec passed legislation that obliges major carmakers to offer an increasing number of PHEV and BEV models, beginning with 3.5% in 2018 and rising to 15.5% in 2020, using a tradable credit system.

After the approval of the 2018 law that granted import duty and value added tax exemptions, the fleet grew from 377 units in 2018, to 1,446 in 2020, and reached 8,963 all-electric cars registered by the end of 2023.

[327][328][329] According to Mitsubishi, Costa Rica was selected at the first market launch in the Americas due to its environmental record, despite the lack of government incentives for purchasing electric cars.

[331] Other all-electric and plug-in hybrid cars introduced early in Costa Rica include the BYD Qin (November 2013),[332][333] Mitsubishi Outlander (March 2015)[334] and BMW i3 (September 2016).

[citation needed] Estonia was the first country to deploy an EV charging network with nationwide coverage, with fast chargers available along highways at a maximum distance of 40 to 60 km (25 to 37 mi).

[277] Estonia's figures are low compared to other advanced economies, attributed to lack of government incentives after the carbon credit scheme was exhausted.

The measures privilege battery-powered cars, fuel cell vehicles and some PHEVs, by granting local governments the authority to offer additional incentives.

The Jedlik plan supported the domestic production of electric vehicles, expanding the necessary infrastructure and promoting the purchase of EVs with public incentives,[409] including 1.5 million HUF, initiated at the end of 2016.

[481] Other factors contributing to the rapid adoption of plug-in electric vehicles are the Netherlands' small size, which reduces range anxiety; a long tradition of environmental activism; high gasoline prices (US$8.50 per gallon as of January 2013); and some EV leasing programs that provide free or discounted gasoline-powered vehicles for covering long distances.

[484] The government agency EECA have forecasted 60,000 – 136,000 EVs in the NZ fleet by 2023[485] and other projections suggest New Zealand will reach 100% electric vehicle sales by 2030.

[486] The New Zealand Government launched an Electric Vehicle Programme in May 2016[487] to encourage EV uptake and added a Clean Car Discount in June 2021.

[488] Electric vehicles in New Zealand are exempt from road user charges until at least 31 March 2024,[487] and attract the Clean Car Discount when first registered in the country.

[528] During a demonstration at Nanyang Technological University on 7 February 2018, Nissan Philippines' president and managing director Ramesh Narasimhan has announced that they would like to bring the Leaf to the Filipino market.

The converted cars have a range of about 100 km (60 mi), using lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) batteries and brushless DC electric motors.

[541] Serbia is also home to about 10% of global Lithium reserves, the mining & processing of which will be done in partnership with Rio Tinto who have committed $1.5 billion of investment in the country.

[542] The government is currently looking to use this resource to produce a major EV battery plant & Rio Tinto is helping locate a strategic partner for this venture.

[544] Adoption has been slowed due to high purchase prices, lack of public charging infrastructure and unclear national policies.

[404] In February 2021, the government announced the Singapore Green Plan 2030, which set the goals of deploying 60,000 charging points by 2030, new monetary purchase incentives, and for all new car registrations to be cleaner-energy models by the same year.

[548] The Joule, designed by Cape Town-based failed start-up Optimal Energy,[549] was announced at the 2008 Paris Motor Show, with a maximum range of 300 km (190 mi).

[559] Aragón, Asturias, Baleares, Madrid, Navarra, Valencia, Castilla-La Mancha, Murcia, Castile and León offered additional incentives.

[124][563][122][123] As of December 2017[update], the Outlander PHEV continues to rank as the all-time top selling plug-in electric car with 9,957 units registered.

[88][89][604] As of April 2021, three US states have introduced government mandates to ban the sale of gasoline powered cars in the future to push the transition to electric vehicles.

[615] The Uruguayan government through its Industry Ministry started offering in November 2022 a US$5,000 subsidy (applied as a post-sale rebate) for the replacement of up to 100 thermal taxis and ride-hailing vehicles.

[630] On 19 September 2024 BYD delivered those 100 K9UD buses on their factory in Qingdao, China with the presence of CUTCSA authorities,[631] the first 50 arriving on 3 December 2024 and starting operations in January 2025.

[632] Furthermore, on 18 September 2024 the company announced the plan to purchase in 2025 the remaining 59 electric buses required to achieve their target of 25% fleet electrification, pending the completion of some infrastructure on their depots.

[641][642] Meanwhile, on 6 February 2024 the Department of Canelones announced the purchase of 8 electric buses (from Yutong, Ankai and Guangdong) for their urban and suburban lines, to be distributed among 5 mass transit companies.