Motor vehicle

[3][4][5] Navigant Consulting forecasts that the global stock of light-duty motor vehicles will reach 2 billion units in 2035.

[13] In developing countries vehicle ownership rates rarely exceed 200 cars per 1,000 population.

[14] The following table summarizes the evolution of motor vehicle registrations in the world from 1960 to 2019: Since the early 2000s, the number of alternative fuel vehicles has been increasing driven by the interest of several governments to promote their widespread adoption through public subsidies and other non-financial incentives.

As of 2020[update], the stock of light-duty plug-in vehicles in use totaled over 10 million units.

[23][24] As of 2019[update], in addition, the medium and heavy commercial segments add another 700,000 units to the global stock of plug-in electric vehicles.

[23] Nevertheless, despite government support and the rapid growth experienced, the plug-in electric car segment represented just about 1 out of every 250 vehicles (0.4%) on the world's roads by the end of 2018.

[25] The People's Republic of China had 322 million motor vehicles in use at the end of September 2018, of which, 235 million were passenger cars in 2018, making China the country with largest motor vehicle fleet in the world.

These figures include heavy-duty commercial vehicles such buses and sanitation trucks, which represent about 11% of the total stock.

[26] China is also the world's largest electric bus market, reaching about 385,000 units by the end of 2017.

[29] This explosive growth has allowed China to become the world's largest new car market, overtaking the US in 2009.

[32] However, actual use of ethanol fuel is significantly limited due to the lack of E85 refueling infrastructure.

The five largest markets, Germany (17.7%), Italy (15.4%), France (13.3%), the UK (12.5%), and Spain (9.5%), accounted for 68% of the region's total registered fleet in 2008.

[47][48][49] Norway is the leading plug-in market in Europe with almost 500,000 units registered as of December 2020[update].

[50] In October 2018, Norway became the world's first country where 10% of all passenger cars on the road are plug-in electrics.

[51][52] Also, the Norwegian plug-in car segment market share has been the highest in the world for several years, achieving 39.2% in 2017, 49.1% in 2018, and 74.7% in 2020.

[58] In 2010 Brazil experienced the second largest fleet increase in the world after China, with 2.5 million vehicle registrations.

The motor vehicle fleet grew 14.5% since 2006, for an annual rate of 2.7% during this five-year period.