Plug in electric vehicle

Plug-in electric vehicle

A plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) is any motor vehicle with rechargeable battery packs that can be charged from the electric grid, and the electricity stored on board drives or contributes to drive the wheels for propulsion. Plug-in electric vehicles are also sometimes referred to as grid-enabled vehicles (GEV) and also as electrically chargeable vehicles.

PEV is a subcategory of electric vehicles that includes battery electric vehicles (BEVs), plug-in hybrid vehicles, (PHEVs), and electric vehicle conversions of hybrid electric vehicles and conventional internal combustion engine vehicles. Even though conventional hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) have a battery that is continually recharged with power from the internal combustion engine and regenerative braking, they can not be recharged from an off-vehicle electric energy source, and therefore, they do not belong to the category of plug-in electric vehicles.

"Plug-in electric drive vehicle" is the legal term used in U.S. federal legislation to designate the category of motor vehicles eligible for federal tax credits depending on battery size and their all-electric range. In some European countries, particularly in France, "electrically chargeable vehicle" is the formal term used to designate the vehicles eligible for these incentives. While the term "plug-in electric vehicle" most often refers to automobiles or "plug-in cars", there are several other types of plug-in electric vehicle, including scooters, motorcycles, neighborhood electric vehicles or microcars, city cars, vans, light trucks or light commercial vehicles, buses, trucks or lorries, and military vehicles.

Battery electric vehicles

A battery electric vehicle (BEV) uses chemical energy stored in rechargeable battery packs as its only source for propulsion. BEVs use electric motors and motor controllers instead of internal combustion engines (ICEs) for propulsion.

A plug-in hybrid operates as an all-electric vehicle or BEV when operating in charge-depleting mode, but it switches to charge-sustaining mode after the battery has reached its minimum state of charge (SOC) threshold, exhausting the vehicle's all-electric range (AER).

Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles

A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV or PHV), also known as a plug-in hybrid, is a hybrid electric vehicle with rechargeable batteries that can be restored to full charge by connecting a plug to an external electric power source. A plug-in hybrid shares the characteristics of both a conventional hybrid electric vehicle and an all-electric vehicle: it uses a gasoline engine and an electric motor for propulsion, but a PHEV has a larger battery pack that can be recharged, allowing operation in all-electric mode until the battery is depleted.

Aftermarket conversions

An aftermarket electric vehicle conversion is the modification of a conventional internal combustion engine vehicle (ICEV) or hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) to electric propulsion, creating an all-electric or plug-in hybrid electric vehicle.

There are several companies in the U.S. offering conversions. The most common conversions have been from hybrid electric cars to plug-in hybrid, but due to the different technology used in hybrids by each carmaker, the easiest conversions are for 2004–2009 Toyota Prius and for the Ford Escape/Mercury Mariner Hybrid.

New energy vehicles

In China the term new energy vehicles (NEVs) refers to vehicles that are partially or fully powered by electricity, such as battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs). The Chinese government began implementation of its NEV program in 2009 to foster the development and introduction of new energy vehicles.

Lower operating and maintenance costs

Internal combustion engines are relatively inefficient at converting on-board fuel energy to propulsion as most of the energy is wasted as heat, and the rest while the engine is idling. Electric motors, on the other hand, are more efficient at converting stored energy into driving a vehicle. Electric drive vehicles do not consume energy while at rest or coasting, and modern plug-in cars can capture and reuse as much as one fifth of the energy normally lost during braking through regenerative braking. Typically, conventional gasoline engines effectively use only 15% of the fuel energy content to move the vehicle or to power accessories, and diesel engines can reach on-board efficiencies of 20%, while electric drive vehicles typically have on-board efficiencies of around 80%.

In the United States, as of early 2010 with a national average electricity rate of US$0.10 per kWh, the cost per mile for a plug-in electric vehicle operating in all-electric mode is estimated between $0.02 to $0.04, while the cost per mile of a standard automobile varies between $0.08 to $0.20, considering a gasoline price of $3.00 per gallon. As petroleum price is expected to increase in the future due to oil production decline and increases in global demand, the cost difference in favor of PEVs is expected to become even more advantageous.

According to Consumer Reports, as of December 2011 the Nissan Leaf has a cost of 3.5 cents per mile and the Chevrolet Volt has a cost in electric mode of 3.8 cents per mile. The Volt cost per mile is higher because it is heavier than the Leaf. These estimates are based on the fuel economy and energy consumption measured on their tests and using a U.S. national average rate of 11 cents per kWh of electricity. When the Volt runs in range-extended mode using its premium gasoline-powered engine, the plug-in hybrid has a cost of 12.5 cents per mile. The out-of-pocket cost per mile of the three most fuel efficient gasoline-powered cars as tested by the magazine are the Toyota Prius, with a cost of 8.6 cents per miles, the Honda Civic Hybrid with 9.5 cents per mile, the Toyota Corolla with 11.9 cents per mile, and the Hyundai Elantra 13.1 cents per mile. The analysis also found that on trips up to 100 mi (160 km), the Volt is cheaper to drive than the Prius and the other three cars due to the Volt's 35 mi (56 km) driving range on electricity. The previous operating costs do not include maintenance, depreciation or other costs.

All-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles also have lower maintenance costs as compared to internal combustion vehicles, since electronic systems break down much less often than the mechanical systems in conventional vehicles, and the fewer mechanical systems on board last longer due to the better use of the electric engine. PEVs do not require oil changes and other routine maintenance checks.

The following table compares out-of-pocket fuel costs estimated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency according to its official ratings for fuel economy (miles per gallon gasoline equivalent in the case of plug-in electric vehicles) for series production all-electric passenger vehicles rated by the EPA as of November 2016, versus EPA rated most fuel efficient plug-in hybrid with long distance range (Chevrolet Volt – second generation), gasoline-electric hybrid car (Toyota Prius Eco - fourth generation), and EPA's average new 2016 vehicle, which has a fuel economy of 25 mpg_‑US (9.4 L/100 km; 30 mpg_‑imp).

The following table compares EPA's estimated out-of-pocket fuel costs and fuel economy ratings of serial production plug-in hybrid electric vehicles rated by EPA as of January 2017 expressed in miles per gallon gasoline equivalent (mpg-e), versus the most fuel efficient gasoline-electric hybrid car, the 2016 Toyota Prius Eco (fourth generation), rated 56 mpg_‑US (4.2 L/100 km; 67 mpg_‑imp), and EPA's average new 2016 vehicle, which has a fuel economy of 25 mpg_‑US (9.4 L/100 km; 30 mpg_‑imp). The table also shows the fuel efficiency for plug-in hybrids in all-electric mode expressed as KWh/100 mile, the metric used by EPA to rate electric cars before November 2010.

The Edison Electric Institute (EEI) conducted an analysis that demonstrated that between January 1976 and February 2012 the real price for gasoline has been much more volatile than the real price of electricity in the United States. The analysis is based on a plug-in electric vehicle with an efficiency of 3.4 miles per kW-hr (like the Mitsubishi i MiEV) and a gasoline-powered vehicle with a fuel economy rated at 30 mpg_‑US (7.8 L/100 km; 36 mpg_‑imp) (like the 2012 Fiat 500). The EEI estimated that operating a plug-in would have had an equivalent cost of around US$1.50 a gallon in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and around US$1.00 a gallon since the late 1990s. In contrast, the price to operate an internal combustion engine vehicle has had much ample variations, costing more than US$3.50 per gallon during the 1979 energy crisis, then had a couple of lows with prices at less than US$1.50 during 1999 and 2001, only to climb and reach a maximum of more than US$4.00 before the beginning of the 2007–2009 financial crisis, by early 2012 has fluctuated around US$3.50. The analysis found that the cost of an equivalent electric-gallon of gasoline would have been not only cheaper to operate during the entire analysis period but also that equivalent electricity prices are more stable and have been declining in terms of equivalent dollars per gallon.

Air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions

Electric cars, as well as plug-in hybrids operating in all-electric mode, emit no harmful tailpipe pollutants from the onboard source of power, such as particulates (soot), volatile organic compounds, hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, ozone, lead, and various oxides of nitrogen. The clean air benefit is usually local because, depending on the source of the electricity used to recharge the batteries, air pollutant emissions are shifted to the location of the generation plants. In a similar manner, plug-in electric vehicles operating in all-electric mode do not emit greenhouse gases from the onboard source of power, but from the point of view of a well-to-wheel assessment, the extent of the benefit also depends on the fuel and technology used for electricity generation. This fact has been referred to as the long tailpipe of plug-in electric vehicles. From the perspective of a full life cycle analysis, the electricity used to recharge the batteries must be generated from renewable or clean sources such as wind, solar, hydroelectric, or nuclear power for PEVs to have almost none or zero well-to-wheel emissions. On the other hand, when PEVs are recharged from coal-fired plants, they usually produce slightly more greenhouse gas emissions than internal combustion engine vehicles and higher than hybrid electric vehicles. In the case of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles operating in hybrid mode with assistance of the internal combustion engine, tailpipe and greenhouse emissions are lower in comparison to conventional cars because of their higher fuel economy.

The magnitude of the potential advantage depends on the mix of generation sources and therefore varies by country and by region. For example, France can obtain significant emission benefits from electric and plug-in hybrids because most of its electricity is generated by nuclear power plants; California, where most energy comes from natural gas, hydroelectric and nuclear plants can also secure substantial emission benefits. The U.K. also has a significant potential to benefit from PEVs as natural gas plants dominate the generation mix. On the other hand, emission benefits in Germany, China, India, and the central regions of the United States are limited or non-existent because most electricity is generated from coal. However these countries and regions might still obtain some air quality benefits by reducing local air pollution in urban areas. Cities with chronic air pollution problems, such as Los Angeles, México City, Santiago, Chile, São Paulo, Beijing, Bangkok and Kathmandu may also gain local clean air benefits by shifting the harmful emission to electric generation plants located outside the cities. Nevertheless, the location of the plants is not relevant when considering greenhouse gas emission because their effect is global.

Carbon footprint during production

A report published in June 2011, prepared by Ricardo in collaboration with experts from the UK's Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership, found that hybrid electric cars, plug-in hybrids and all-electric cars generate more carbon emissions during their production than current conventional vehicles, but still have a lower overall carbon footprint over the full life cycle. The higher carbon footprint during production of electric drive vehicles is due mainly to the production of batteries. As an example, 43 percent of production emissions for a mid-size electric car are generated from the battery production, while for standard mid-sized gasolineinternal combustion engine vehicle, around 75% of the embedded carbon emissions during production comes from the steel used in the vehicle glider. The following table summarizes key results of this study for four powertrain technologies:

The Ricardo study also found that the lifecycle carbon emissions for mid-sized gasoline and diesel vehicles are almost identical, and that the greater fuel efficiency of the diesel engine is offset by higher production emissions.

In 2014 Volkswagen published the results of life-cycle assessment of its electric vehicles certified by TÜV NORD, and independent inspection agency. The study found that CO
2 emissions during the use phase of its all-electric VW e-Golf are 99% lower than those of the Golf 1.2 TSI when powers comes from exclusively hydroelectricity generated in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Accounting for the full lifecycle, the e-Golf reduces emissions by 61%, offsetting higher production emissions. When the actual EU-27 electricity mix is considered, the e-Golf emissions are still 26% lower than those of the conventional Golf 1.2 TSI. Similar results were found when comparing the e-Golf with the Golf 1.6 TDI. The analysis considered recycling of the three vehicles at the end of their lifetime.

Well-to-wheel GHG emissions in the U.S.

The following table compares tailpipe and upstream CO₂ emissions estimated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for all series production model year 2014 plug-in electric vehicles available in the U.S. market. Total emissions include the emissions associated with the production and distribution of electricity used to charge the vehicle, and for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, it also includes emissions associated with tailpipe emissions produced from the internal combustion engine. These figures were published by the EPA in October 2014 in its annual report "Light-Duty Automotive Technology, Carbon Dioxide Emissions, and Fuel Economy Trends: 1975 Through 2014." All emissions are estimated considering average real world city and highway operation based on the EPA 5-cycle label methodology, using a weighted 55% city and 45% highway driving. For the first time, the 2014 Trends report presents an analysis of the impact of alternative fuel vehicles, with emphasis in plug-in electric vehicles because as their market share is approaching 1%, the EPA concluded that PEVs began to have a measurable impact on the U.S. overall new vehicle fuel economy and CO₂ emissions.

For purposes of an accurate estimation of emissions, the analysis took into consideration the differences in operation between plug-in hybrids. Some, like the Chevrolet Volt, can operate in all-electric mode without using gasoline, and others operate in a blended mode like the Toyota Prius PHV, which uses both energy stored in the battery and energy from the gasoline tank to propel the vehicle, but that can deliver substantial all-electric driving in blended mode. In addition, since the all-electric range of plug-in hybrids depends on the size of the battery pack, the analysis introduced a utility factor as a projection of the share of miles that will be driven using electricity by an average driver, for both, electric only and blended EV modes. Since all-electric cars do not produce tailpipe emissions, the utility factor applies only to plug-in hybrids. The following table shows the overall fuel economy expressed in terms of miles per gallon gasoline equivalent (mpg-e) and the utility factor for the ten MY2014 plug-in hybrids available in the U.S. market, and EPA's best estimate of the CO₂ tailpipe emissions produced by these PHEVs.

In order to account for the upstream CO₂ emissions associated with the production and distribution of electricity, and since electricity production in the United States varies significantly from region to region, the EPA considered three scenarios/ranges with the low end scenario corresponding to the California powerplant emissions factor, the middle of the range represented by the national average powerplant emissions factor, and the upper end of the range corresponding to the powerplant emissions factor for the Rocky Mountains. The EPA estimates that the electricity GHG emission factors for various regions of the country vary from 346 g CO₂/kWh in California to 986 g CO₂/kWh in the Rockies, with a national average of 648 g CO₂/kWh.

The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) published a study in 2012 that assessed average greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. resulting from charging plug-in car batteries from the perspective of the full life-cycle (well-to-wheel analysis) and according to fuel and technology used to generate electric power by region. The study used the model year 2011 Nissan Leaf all-electric car to establish the analysis baseline, and electric-utility emissions are based on EPA's 2009 estimates. The UCS study expressed the results in terms of miles per gallon instead of the conventional unit of grams of greenhouse gases or carbon dioxide equivalent emissions per year in order to make the results more friendly for consumers. The study found that in areas where electricity is generated from natural gas, nuclear, hydroelectric or renewable sources, the potential of plug-in electric cars to reduce greenhouse emissions is significant. On the other hand, in regions where a high proportion of power is generated from coal, hybrid electric cars produce less CO₂ equivalent emissions than plug-in electric cars, and the best fuel efficient gasoline-powered subcompact car produces slightly less emissions than a PEV. In the worst-case scenario, the study estimated that for a region where all energy is generated from coal, a plug-in electric car would emit greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to a gasoline car rated at a combined city/highway driving fuel economy of 30 mpg_‑US (7.8 L/100 km; 36 mpg_‑imp). In contrast, in a region that is completely reliant on natural gas, the PEV would be equivalent to a gasoline-powered car rated at 50 mpg_‑US (4.7 L/100 km; 60 mpg_‑imp).

The study concluded that for 45% of the U.S. population, a plug-in electric car will generate lower CO₂ equivalent emissions than a gasoline-powered car capable of combined 50 mpg_‑US (4.7 L/100 km; 60 mpg_‑imp), such as the Toyota Prius and the Prius c. The UCS also found that for 37% of the population, the electric car emissions will fall in the range of a gasoline-powered car rated at a combined fuel economy of 41 to 50 mpg_‑US (5.7 to 4.7 L/100 km; 49 to 60 mpg_‑imp), such as the Honda Civic Hybrid and the Lexus CT200h. Only 18% of the population lives in areas where the power-supply is more dependent on burning carbon, and the greenhouse gas emissions will be equivalent to a car rated at a combined fuel economy of 31 to 40 mpg_‑US (7.6 to 5.9 L/100 km; 37 to 48 mpg_‑imp), such as the Chevrolet Cruze and Ford Focus. The study found that there are no regions in the U.S. where plug-in electric cars will have higher greenhouse gas emissions than the average new compact gasoline engine automobile, and the area with the dirtiest power supply produces CO₂ emissions equivalent to a gasoline-powered car rated at 33 mpg_‑US (7.1 L/100 km).

In September 2014 the UCS published an updated analysis of its 2012 report. The 2014 analysis found that 60% of Americans, up from 45% in 2009, live in regions where an all-electric car produce fewer CO₂ equivalent emissions per mile than the most efficient hybrid. The UCS study found several reasons for the improvement. First, electric utilities have adopted cleaner sources of electricity to their mix between the two analysis. The 2014 study used electric-utility emissions based on EPA's 2010 estimates, but since coal use nationwide is down by about 5% from 2010 to 2014, actual efficiency in 2014 is better than estimated in the UCS study. Second, electric vehicles have become more efficient, as the average 2013 all-electric vehicle used 0.33 kWh per mile, representing a 5% improvement over 2011 models. Also, some new models are cleaner than the average, such as the BMW i3, which is rated at 0.27 kWh by the EPA. An i3 charged with power from the Midwest grid would be as clean as a gasoline-powered car with about 50 mpg_‑US (4.7 L/100 km), up from 39 mpg_‑US (6.0 L/100 km) for the average electric car in the 2012 study. In states with a cleaner mix generation, the gains were larger. The average all-electric car in California went up to 95 mpg_‑US (2.5 L/100 km) equivalent from 78 mpg_‑US (3.0 L/100 km) in the 2012 study. States with dirtier generation that rely heavily on coal still lag, such as Colorado, where the average BEV only achieves the same emissions as a 34 mpg_‑US (6.9 L/100 km; 41 mpg_‑imp) gasoline-powered car. The author of the 2014 analysis noted that the benefits are not distributed evenly across the U.S. because electric car adoptions is concentrated in the states with cleaner power.

In November 2015 the Union of Concerned Scientists published a new report comparing two battery electric vehicles (BEVs) with similar gasoline vehicles by examining their global warming emissions over their full life-cycle, cradle-to-grave analysis. The two BEVs modeled, midsize and full-size, are based on the two most popular BEV models sold in the United States in 2015, the Nissan Leaf and the Tesla Model S. The study found that all-electric cars representative of those sold today, on average produce less than half the global warming emissions of comparable gasoline-powered vehicles, despite taken into account the higher emissions associated with BEV manufacturing. Considering the regions where the two most popular electric cars are being sold, excess manufacturing emissions are offset within 6 to 16 months of average driving. The study also concluded that driving an average EV results in lower global warming emissions than driving a gasoline car that gets 50 mpg_‑US (4.7 L/100 km) in regions covering two-thirds of the U.S. population, up from 45% in 2009. Based on where EVs are being sold in the United States in 2015, the average EV produces global warming emissions equal to a gasoline vehicle with a 68 mpg_‑US (3.5 L/100 km) fuel economy rating. The authors identified two main reason for the fact that EV-related emissions have become even lower in many parts of the country since the first study was conducted in 2012. Electricity generation has been getting cleaner, as coal-fired generation has declined while lower-carbon alternatives have increased. In addition, electric cars are becoming more efficient. For example, the Nissan Leaf and the Chevrolet Volt, have undergone improvements to increase their efficiencies compared to the original models launched in 2010, and other even more efficient BEV models, such as the most lightweight and efficient BMW i3, have entered the market.

One criticism to the UCS study is that the analysis was made using average emissions rates across regions instead of marginal generation at different times of the day. The former approach does not take into account the generation mix within interconnected electricity markets and shifting load profiles throughout the day. An analysis by three economist affiliated with the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), published in November 2014, developed a methodology to estimate marginal emissions of electricity demand that vary by location and time of day across the United States. The marginal analysis, applied to plug-in electric vehicles, found that the emissions of charging PEVs vary by region and hours of the day. In some regions, such as the Western U.S. and Texas, CO₂ emissions per mile from driving PEVs are less than those from driving a hybrid car. However, in other regions, such as the Upper Midwest, charging during the recommended hours of midnight to 4 a.m. implies that PEVs generate more emissions per mile than the average car currently on the road. The results show a fundamental tension between electricity load management and environmental goals as the hours when electricity is the least expensive to produce tend to be the hours with the greatest emissions. This occurs because coal-fired units, which have higher emission rates, are most commonly used to meet base-level and off-peak electricity demand; while natural gas units, which have relatively low emissions rates, are often brought online to meet peak demand.

Well-to-wheel GHG emissions in several countries

A study published in the UK in April 2013 assessed the carbon footprint of plug-in electric vehicles in 20 countries. As a baseline the analysis established that manufacturing emissions account for 70 g CO₂/km for an electric car and 40 g CO₂/km for a petrol car. The study found that in countries with coal-intensive generation, PEVs are no different from conventional petrol-powered vehicles. Among these countries are China, Indonesia, Australia, South Africa and India. A pure electric car in India generates emissions comparable to a 20 mpg_‑US (12 L/100 km; 24 mpg_‑imp) petrol car.

The country ranking was led by Paraguay, where all electricity is produced from hydropower, and Iceland, where electricity production relies on renewable power, mainly hydro and geothermal power. Resulting carbon emissions from an electric car in both countries are 70 g CO₂/km, which is equivalent to a 220 mpg_‑US (1.1 L/100 km; 260 mpg_‑imp) petrol car, and correspond to manufacturing emissions. Next in the ranking are other countries with low carbon electricity generation, including Sweden (mostly hydro and nuclear power ), Brazil (mainly hydropower) and France (predominantly nuclear power). Countries ranking in the middle include Japan, Germany, the UK and the United States.

The following table shows the emissions intensity estimated in the study for those countries where electric vehicle are available, and the corresponding emissions equivalent in miles per US gallon of a petrol-powered car:

Less dependence on imported oil

For many net oil importing countries the 2000s energy crisis brought back concerns first raised during the 1973 oil crisis. For the United States, the other developed countries and emerging countries their dependence on foreign oil has revived concerns about their vulnerability to price shocks and supply disruption. Also, there have been concerns about the uncertainty surrounding peak oil production and the higher cost of extracting unconventional oil. A third issue that has been raised is the threat to national security because most proven oil reserves are concentrated in relatively few geographic locations, including some countries with strong resource nationalism, unstable governments or hostile to U.S. interests. In addition, for many developing countries, and particularly for the poorest African countries, high oil prices have an adverse impact on the government budget and deteriorate their terms of trade thus jeopardizing their balance of payments, all leading to lower economic growth.

Through the gradual replacement of internal combustion engine vehicles for electric cars and plug-in hybrids, electric drive vehicles can contribute significantly to lessen the dependence of the transport sector on imported oil as well as contributing to the development of a more resilient energy supply.

Vehicle-to-grid

Plug-in electric vehicles offer users the opportunity to sell electricity stored in their batteries back to the power grid, thereby helping utilities to operate more efficiently in the management of their demand peaks. A vehicle-to-grid (V2G) system would take advantage of the fact that most vehicles are parked an average of 95 percent of the time. During such idle times the electricity stored in the batteries could be transferred from the PEV to the power lines and back to the grid. In the U.S this transfer back to the grid have an estimated value to the utilities of up to $4,000 per year per car. In a V2G system it would also be expected that battery electric (BEVs) and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) would have the capability to communicate automatically with the power grid to sell demand response services by either delivering electricity into the grid or by throttling their charging rate.

Cost of batteries and cost of ownership

As of 2015, plug-in electric vehicles are significantly more expensive as compared to conventional internal combustion engine vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles due to the additional cost of their lithium-ion battery pack. According to a 2010 study by the National Research Council, the cost of a lithium-ion battery pack was about US$1,700/kWh of usable energy, and considering that a PHEV-10 requires about 2.0 kWh and a PHEV-40 about 8 kWh, the manufacturer cost of the battery pack for a PHEV-10 is around US$3,000 and it goes up to US$14,000 for a PHEV-40. As of June 2012, and based on the three battery size options offered for the Tesla Model S, the New York Times estimated the cost of automotive battery packs between US$400 to US$500 per kilowatt-hour. A 2013 study by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy reported that battery costs came down from US$1,300 per kWh in 2007 to US$500 per kWh in 2012. The U.S. Department of Energy has set cost targets for its sponsored battery research of US$300 per kWh in 2015 and US$125 per kWh by 2022. Cost reductions through advances in battery technology and higher production volumes will allow plug-in electric vehicles to be more competitive with conventional internal combustion engine vehicles.

According to a study published in February 2016 by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF), battery prices fell 65% since 2010, and 35% just in 2015, reaching US$350 per kWh. The study concludes that battery costs are on a trajectory to make electric vehicles without government subsidies as affordable as internal combustion engine cars in most countries by 2022. BNEF projects that by 2040, long-range electric cars will cost less than US$22,000 expressed in 2016 dollars. BNEF expects electric car battery costs to be well below US$120 per kWh by 2030, and to fall further thereafter as new chemistries become available.

A study published in 2011 by the Belfer Center, Harvard University, found that the gasoline costs savings of plug-in electric cars do not offset their higher purchase prices when comparing their lifetime net present value of purchase and operating costs for the U.S. market at 2010 prices, and assuming no government subidies. According to the study estimates, a PHEV-40 is US$5,377 more expensive than a conventional internal combustion engine, while a battery electric vehicles is US$4,819 more expensive. These findings assumed a battery cost of US$600 per kWh, which means that the Chevrolet Volt battery pack cost around US$10,000 and the Nissan Leaf pack costs US$14,400. The study also assumed a gasoline price of US$3.75 per gallon (as of mid June 2011), that vehicles are driven 12,000 miles (19,000 km) per year, an average price of electricity of US$0.12 per kWh, that the plug-in hybrid is driven in all-electric mode 85% of the time, and that the owner of PEVs pay US$1,500 to install a Level II 220/240 volt charger at home.

The study also include hybrid electric vehicles in the comparison, and analyzed several scenarios to determine how the comparative net savings will change over the next 10 to 20 years, assuming that battery costs will decrease while gasoline prices increase, and also assuming higher fuel efficiency of conventional cars, among other scenarios. Under the future scenarios considered, the study found that BEVs will be significantly less expensive than conventional cars (US$1,155 to US$7,181 cheaper), while PHEVs, will be more expensive than BEVs in almost all comparison scenarios, and only less expensive than conventional cars in a scenario with very low battery costs and high gasoline prices. The reason for the different savings among PEVs is because BEVs are simpler to build and do not use liquid fuel, while PHEVs have more complicated powertrains and still have gasoline-powered engines. The following table summarizes the results of four of the seven scenarios analyzed by the study.

According to a study by the Electric Power Research Institute published in June 2013, the total cost of ownership of the 2013 Nissan Leaf SV is substantially lower than that of comparable conventional and hybrid vehicles. For comparison, the study constructed average hybrid and conventional vehicles and assumed an average US distance per trip distribution. The study took into account the manufacturer's suggested retail price, taxes, credits, destination charge, electric charging station, fuel cost, maintenance cost, and additional cost due to the use of a gasoline vehicle for trips beyond the range of the Leaf.

Availability of recharging infrastructure

Despite the widespread assumption that plug-in recharging will take place overnight at home, residents of cities, apartments, dormitories, and townhouses do not have garages or driveways with available power outlets, and they might be less likely to buy plug-in electric vehicles unless recharging infrastructure is developed. Electrical outlets or charging stations near their places of residence, in commercial or public parking lots, streets and workplaces are required for these potential users to gain the full advantage of PHEVs, and in the case of EVs, to avoid the fear of the batteries running out energy before reaching their destination, commonly called range anxiety. Even house dwellers might need to charge at the office or to take advantage of opportunity charging at shopping centers. However, this infrastructure is not in place and it will require investments by both the private and public sectors.

Several cities in California and Oregon, and particularly San Francisco and other cities in the San Francisco Bay Area and Silicon Valley, already have deployed public charging stations and have expansion plans to attend both plug-ins and all-electric cars. Some local private firms such as Google and Adobe Systems have also deployed charging infrastructure. In Google's case, its Mountain View campus has 100 available charging stations for its share-use fleet of converted plug-ins available to its employees. Solar panels are used to generate the electricity, and this pilot program is being monitored on a daily basis and performance results are published on the RechargeIT website. As of December 2013, Estonia is the first and only country that had deployed an EV charging network with nationwide coverage, with 165 fast chargers available along highways at a minimum distance of between 40 to 60 km (25 to 37 mi), and a higher density in urban areas.

The importance to build the infrastructure necessary to support electric vehicles is illustrated by the decision of Car2Go in San Diego, California, that due to insufficient charging infrastructure decided to replace all of its all-electric car fleet with gasoline-powered cars starting on 1 May 2016. When the carsharing service started in 2011, Car2Go expected 1,000 charging stations to be deployed around the city, but only 400 were in place by early 2016. As a result, an average of 20% of the carsharing fleet is unavailable at any given time because the cars are either being charged or because they don’t have enough electricity in them to be driven. Also, many of the company’s 40,000 San Diego members say they often worry their Car2Go will run out of charge before they finish their trip.

Battery swapping

A different approach to resolve the problems of range anxiety and lack of recharging infrastructure for electric vehicles was developed by Better Place. Its business model considers that electric cars are built and sold separately from the battery pack. As customers are not allowed to purchase battery packs, they must lease them from Better Place which will deploy a network of battery swapping stations thus expanding EVs range and allowing long distance trips. Subscribed users pay a per-distance fee to cover battery pack leasing, charging and swap infrastructure, the cost of sustainable electricity, and other costs. Better Place signed agreement for deployment in Australia, Denmark, Israel, Canada, California, and Hawaii. The Renault Fluence Z.E. was the electric car built with switchable battery technology sold for the Better Place network. The robotic battery-switching operation was completed in about five minutes.

After implementing the first modern commercial deployment of the battery swapping model in Israel and Denmark, Better Place filed for bankruptcy in Israel in May 2013. The company's financial difficulties were caused by the high investment required to develop the charging and swapping infrastructure, about US$850 million in private capital, and a market penetration significantly lower than originally predicted by Shai Agassi. Less than 1,000 Fluence Z.E. cars were deployed in Israel and around 400 units in Denmark.

Tesla Motors designed its Model S to allow fast battery swapping. In June 2013, Tesla announced their goal to deploy a battery swapping station in each of its supercharging stations. At a demonstration event Tesla showed that a battery swap operation with the Model S takes just over 90 seconds, about half the time it takes to refill a gasoline-powered car used for comparison purposes during the event. The first stations are planned to be deployed along Interstate 5 in California where, according to Tesla, a large number of Model S sedans make the San Francisco-Los Angeles trip regularly. These will be followed by the Washington, DC to Boston corridor.

Other charging solutions

The REVA NXR exhibited in the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show and the Nissan Leaf SV trim both have roof-mounted solar panels. These solar panels are designed to trickle charge the batteries when the car is moving or parked. Another proposed technology is REVive, by REVA. When the REVA NXR's batteries are running low or are fully depleted, the driver is able to send an SMS to REVive and unlock a hidden reserve in the battery pack. REVA has not provided details on how the system will work. The Fisker Karma uses solar panel in the roof to recharge the 12-volt lead-acid accessory battery. The Nissan Leaf SL trim also has a small solar panel at the rear of the roof/spoiler that can trickle charge the auxiliary 12-volt lead-acid battery.

Potential overload of the electrical grid

The existing electrical grid, and local transformers in particular, may not have enough capacity to handle the additional power load that might be required in certain areas with high plug-in electric car concentrations. As recharging a single electric-drive car could consume three times as much electricity as a typical home, overloading problems may arise when several vehicles in the same neighborhood recharge at the same time, or during the normal summer peak loads. To avoid such problems, utility executives recommend owners to charge their vehicles overnight when the grid load is lower or to use smarter electric meters that help control demand. When market penetration of plug-in electric vehicles begins to reach significant levels, utilities will have to invest in improvements for local electrical grids in order to handle the additional loads related to recharging to avoid blackouts due to grid overload. Also, some experts have suggested that by implementing variable time-of-day rates, utilities can provide an incentive for plug-in owners to recharge mostly overnight, when rates are lower.

General Motors is sponsoring the Pecan Street demonstration project in Austin, Texas. The project objective is to learn the charging patterns of plug-in electric car owners, and to study how a residential fleet of electric vehicles might strain the electric grid if all owners try to charge them at the same, which is what the preliminary monitoring found when the plug-in cars return home in the evening. The Mueller neighborhood is the test ground, and as of June 2013, the community has nearly 60 Chevrolet Volt owners alone. This cluster of Volts was achieved thanks to GM's commitment to match the federal government's $7,500 rebate incentive, which effectively halves the purchase price of the plug-hybrid electric cars.

Risks associated with noise reduction

Electric cars and plug-in hybrids when operating in all-electric mode at low speeds produce less roadway noise as compared to vehicles propelled by an internal combustion engine, thereby reducing harmful noise health effects. However, blind people or the visually impaired consider the noise of combustion engines a helpful aid while crossing streets, hence plug-in electric cars and conventional hybrids could pose an unexpected hazard when operating at low speeds.

Several tests conducted in the U.S. have shown that this is a valid concern, as vehicles operating in electric mode can be particularly hard to hear below 20 mph (30 km/h) for all types of road users and not only the visually impaired. At higher speeds the sound created by tire friction and the air displaced by the vehicle start to make sufficient audible noise. However, a 2011 study, commissioned by the UK Department for Transport (DfT) and conducted by the Transport Research Laboratory, found little correlation between pedestrian vehicle involvement density and noise level for the majority of vehicles. In addition, the analysis found no evidence of a pattern in pedestrian vehicle involvement densities when only considering those accidents occurring on 30 mph (48 km/h) or slower roads, or where the pedestrian was disabled. A previous study did not found an increased pedestrian vehicle involvement density for electric and hybrid vehicles with respect to their conventional counterparts which raised the question as to whether added sound is necessarily required.

Some carmakers announced they have decided to address this safety issue, and as a result, the new Nissan Leaf electric car and Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid, both launched in December 2010, as well as the Fisker Karma plug-in hybrid launched in 2011 launched in 2012, include electric warning sounds to alert pedestrians, the blind and others to their presence. As of January 2014, most of the hybrids and plug-in electric and hybrids available in the United States, Japan and Europe make warning noises using a speaker system. The Tesla Model S is one of the few electric cars without warning sounds, because Tesla Motors will await until regulations are enacted. Volkswagen and BMW also decided to add artificial sounds to their electric drive cars only when required by regulation.

The Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism issued guidelines for hybrid and other near-silent vehicles in January 2010. In the United States the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act of 2010 was approved by the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives in December 2010. The act does not stipulate a specific speed for the simulated noise but requires the U.S. Department of Transportation to study and establish a motor vehicle safety standard that would set requirements for an alert sound. A proposed rule was published for comment by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in January, 2013. It would require hybrids and electric vehicles traveling at less than 18.6 miles per hour (30 km/h) to emit warning sounds that pedestrians must be able to hear over background noises. According to the NHTSA proposal carmakers would be able to pick the sounds the vehicles make from a range of choices, and similar vehicles would have to make the same sounds. The rules were scheduled to go into effect in September 2014. However, in January 2015 the NHTSA rescheduled the date for a final ruling to the end of 2015. Since the regulation comes into force three years after being rendered as a final rule, compliance was delayed to 2018.

On 6 February 2013, the European Parliament approved a draft law to tighten noise limits for cars to protect public health, and also to add alerting sounds to ensure the audibility of hybrid and electric vehicles to improve the safety of vulnerable road users in urban areas, such as blind, visually and auditorily challenged pedestrians, cyclists and children. The draft legislation states a number of tests, standards and measures that must first be developed for an Acoustic Vehicle Alerting Systems (AVAS) to be compulsory in the future. The approved amendment establishes that the sound to be generated by the AVAS should be a continuous sound and should be easily indicative of vehicle behavior and should sound similar to the sound of a vehicle of the same category equipped with an internal combustion engine." In April 2014 the European Parliament approved legislation that requires the mandatory use of the AVAS for all new electric and hybrid electric vehicles and car manufacturers have to comply within 5 years.

Risks of battery fire

Lithium-ion batteries may suffer thermal runaway and cell rupture if overheated or overcharged, and in extreme cases this can lead to combustion. To reduce these risks, lithium-ion battery packs contain fail-safe circuitry that shuts down the battery when its voltage is outside the safe range. When handled improperly, or if manufactured defectively, some rechargeable batteries can experience thermal runaway resulting in overheating. Especially prone to thermal runaway are lithium-ion batteries. Reports of exploding cellphones have been reported in newspapers. In 2006, batteries from Apple, HP, Toshiba, Lenovo, Dell and other notebook manufacturers were recalled because of fire and explosions. Also, during the Boeing 787 Dreamliner's first year of service, at least four aircraft suffered from electrical system problems stemming from its lithium-ion batteries, resulting in the whole Dreamliner fleet being voluntarily grounded in January 2013.

Several plug-in electric vehicle fire incidents have taken place since the introduction of mass-production plug-in electric vehicles in 2008. Most of them have been thermal runaway incidents related to the lithium-ion batteries and have involved the Zotye M300 EV, Chevrolet Volt, Fisker Karma, BYD e6, Dodge Ram 1500 Plug-in Hybrid, Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid, Mitsubishi i-MiEV and Outlander P-HEV. As of November 2013, four fires after a crash have been reported associated with the batteries of all-electric cars involving a BYD e6 and three Tesla Model S cars.

The first modern crash-related fire was reported in China in May 2012, after a high-speed car crashed into a BYD e6 taxi in Shenzhen. The second reported incident occurred in the United States on October 1, 2013, when a Tesla Model S caught fire after the electric car hit metal debris on a highway in Kent, Washington state, and the debris punctured one of 16 modules within the battery pack. A second reported fire occurred on October 18, 2013 in Merida, Mexico. In this case the vehicle was being driven at high speed through a roundabout and crashed through a wall and into a tree. On November 6, 2013, a Tesla Model S being driven on Interstate 24 near Murfreesboro, Tennessee caught fire after it struck a tow hitch on the roadway, causing damage beneath the vehicle.

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is conducting a study due in 2014 to establish whether lithium-ion batteries in plug-electric vehicles pose a potential fire hazard. The research is looking at whether the high-voltage batteries can cause fires when they are being charged and when the vehicles are involved in an accident. Both General Motors and Nissan have published a guide for firefighters and first responders to properly handle a crashed plug-in electric-drive vehicle and safely disable its battery and other high voltage systems.

Rare earth metals availability and supply security

Common technology for plug-ins and electric cars is based on the lithium-ion battery and an electric motor which uses rare earth elements. The demand for lithium, heavy metals, and other specific elements (such as neodymium, boron and cobalt) required for the batteries and powertrain is expected to grow significantly due to the future sales increase of plug-in electric vehicles in the mid and long term. As of 2011, the Toyota Prius battery contains more than 20 lb (9.1 kg) of the rare earth element lanthanum, and its motor magnets use neodymium and dysprosium. While only 0.25 oz (7 g) of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) are required in a smartphone and 1.1 oz (30 g) in a tablet computer, electric vehicles and stationary energy storage systems for homes, businesses or industry use much more lithium in their batteries. As of 2016 a hybrid electric passenger car might use 11 lb (5 kg) of LCE, while one of Tesla's high performance electric cars could use as much as 180 lb (80 kg).

Some of the largest world reserves of lithium and other rare metals are located in countries with strong resource nationalism, unstable governments or hostility to U.S. interests, raising concerns about the risk of replacing dependence on foreign oil with a new dependence on hostile countries to supply strategic materials.

The main deposits of lithium are found in China and throughout the Andes mountain chain in South America. In 2008 Chile was the leading lithium metal producer with almost 30%, followed by China, Argentina, and Australia. In the United States lithium is recovered from brine pools in Nevada.

Nearly half the world's known reserves are located in Bolivia, and according to the US Geological Survey, Bolivia's Salar de Uyuni desert has 5.4 million tons of lithium. Other important reserves are located in Chile, China, and Brazil. Since 2006 the Bolivian government have nationalized oil and gas projects and is keeping a tight control over mining its lithium reserves. Already the Japanese and South Korean governments, as well as companies from these two countries and France, have offered technical assistance to develop Bolivia's lithium reserves and are seeking to gain access to the lithium resources through a mining and industrialization model suitable to Bolivian interests.

According to a 2011 study conducted at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California Berkeley, the currently estimated reserve base of lithium should not be a limiting factor for large-scale battery production for electric vehicles, as the study estimated that on the order of 1 billion 40 kWh Li-based batteries (about 10 kg of lithium per car) could be built with current reserves, as estimated by the U.S. Geological Survey. Another 2011 study by researchers from the University of Michigan and Ford Motor Company found that there are sufficient lithium resources to support global demand until 2100, including the lithium required for the potential widespread use of hybrid electric, plug-in hybrid electric and battery electric vehicles. The study estimated global lithium reserves at 39 million tons, and total demand for lithium during the 90-year period analyzed at 12–20 million tons, depending on the scenarios regarding economic growth and recycling rates.

A 2016 study by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) found that availability of lithium and other finite materials used in the battery packs will not be a limiting factor for the adoption of electric vehicles. BNEF estimated that battery packs will require less than 1% of the known reserves of lithium, nickel, manganese, and copper through 2030, and 4% of the world’s cobalt. After 2030, the study states that new battery chemistries will probably shift to other source materials, making packs lighter, smaller, and cheaper.

China has 48% of the world's reserves of rare earth elements, the United States has 13%, and Russia, Australia, and Canada have significant deposits. Until the 1980s, the U.S. led the world in rare earth production, but since the mid-1990s China has controlled the world market for these elements. The mines in Bayan Obo near Baotou, Inner Mongolia, are currently the largest source of rare earth metals and are 80% of China's production. In 2010 China accounted for 97% of the global production of 17 rare earth elements. Since 2006 the Chinese government has been imposing export quotas reducing supply at a rate of 5% to 10% a year.

Prices of several rare earth elements increased sharply by mid-2010 as China imposed a 40% export reduction, citing environmental concerns as the reason for the export restrictions. These quotas have been interpreted as an attempt to control the supply of rare earths. However, the high prices have provided an incentive to begin or reactivate several rare earth mining projects around the world, including the United States, Australia, Vietnam, and Kazakhstan.

In September 2010, China temporarily blocked all exports of rare earths to Japan in the midst of a diplomatic dispute between the two countries. These minerals are used in hybrid cars and other products such wind turbines and guided missiles, thereby augmenting the worries about the dependence on Chinese rare earth elements and the need for geographic diversity of supply. A December 2010 report published by the US DoE found that the American economy vulnerable to rare earth shortages and estimates that it could take 15 years to overcome dependence on Chinese supplies. China raised export taxes for some rare earths from 15 to 25%, and also extended taxes to exports of some rare earth alloys that were not taxed before. The Chinese government also announced further reductions on its export quotas for the first months of 2011, which represent a 35% reduction in tonnage as compared to exports during the first half of 2010.

On September 29, 2010, the U.S. House of Representatives approved the Rare Earths and Critical Materials Revitalization Act of 2010 (H.R.6160). The approved legislation is aimed at restoring the U.S. as a leading producer of rare earth elements, and would support activities in the U.S. Department of Energy (US DoE) to discover and develop rare earth sites inside of the U.S. in an effort to reduce the auto industry's near-complete dependence on China for the minerals. A similar bill, the Rare Earths Supply Technology and Resources Transformation Act of 2010 (S. 3521), is being discussed in the U.S. Senate.

In order to avoid its dependence on rare earth minerals, Toyota Motor Corporation announced in January 2011 that it is developing an alternative motor for future hybrid and electric cars that does not need rare earth materials. Toyota engineers in Japan and the U.S. are developing an induction motor that is lighter and more efficient than the magnet-type motor used in the Prius, which uses two rare earths in its motor magnets. Other popular hybrids and plug-in electric cars in the market that use these rare earth elements are the Nissan Leaf, the Chevrolet Volt and Honda Insight. For its second generation RAV4 EV due in 2012, Toyota is using an induction motor supplied by Tesla Motors that does not require rare earth materials. The Tesla Roadster and the Tesla Model S use a similar motor.

Car dealers reluctance to sell

With the exception of Tesla Motors, almost all new cars in the United States are sold through dealerships, so they play a crucial role in the sales of electric vehicles, and negative attitudes can hinder early adoption of plug-in electric vehicles. Dealers decide which cars they want to stock, and a salesperson can have a big impact on how someone feels about a prospective purchase. Sales people have ample knowledge of internal combustion cars while they do not have time to learn about a technology that represents a fraction of overall sales. As with any new technology, and in the particular case of advanced technology vehicles, retailers are central to ensuring that buyers, especially those switching to a new technology, have the information and support they need to gain the full benefits of adopting this new technology.

There are several reasons for the reluctance of some dealers to sell plug-in electric vehicles. PEVs do not offer car dealers the same profits as gasoline-powered car. Plug-in electric vehicles take more time to sell because of the explaining required, which hurts overall sales and sales people commissions. Electric vehicles also may require less maintenance, resulting in loss of service revenue, and thus undermining the biggest source of dealer profits, their service departments. According to the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADS), dealers on average make three times as much profit from service as they do from new car sales. However, a NADS spokesman said there was not sufficient data to prove that electric cars would require less maintenance. According to the New York Times, BMW and Nissan are among the companies whose dealers tend to be more enthusiastic and informed, but only about 10% of dealers are knowledgeable on the new technology.

A study conducted at the Institute of Transportation Studies (ITS), at the University of California, Davis (UC Davis) published in 2014 found that many car dealers are less than enthusiastic about plug-in vehicles. ITS conducted 43 interviews with six automakers and 20 new car dealers selling plug-in vehicles in California’s major metro markets. The study also analyzed national and state-level J.D. Power 2013 Sales Satisfaction Index (SSI) study data on customer satisfaction with new car dealerships and Tesla retail stores. The researchers found that buyers of plug-in electric vehicles were significantly less satisfied and rated the dealer purchase experience much lower than buyers of non-premium conventional cars, while Tesla Motors earned industry-high scores. According to the findings, plug-in buyers expect more from dealers than conventional buyers, including product knowledge and support that extends beyond traditional offerings.

In 2014 Consumer Reports published results from a survey conducted with 19 secret shoppers that went to 85 dealerships in four states, making anonymous visits between December 2013 and March 2014. The secret shoppers asked a number of specific questions about cars to test the salespeople’s knowledge about electric cars. The consumer magazine decided to conduct the survey after several consumers who wanted to buy a plug-in car reported to the organization that some dealerships were steering them toward gasoline-powered models. The survey found that not all sales people seemed enthusiastic about making PEV sales; a few outright discouraged it, and even one dealer was reluctant to even show a plug-in model despite having one in stock. And many sales people seemed not to have a good understanding of electric-car tax breaks and other incentives or of charging needs and costs. Consumer Reports also found that when it came to answering basic questions, sales people at Chevrolet, Ford, and Nissan dealerships tended to be better informed than those at Honda and Toyota. The survey found that most of the Toyota dealerships visited recommended against buying a Prius Plug-in and suggested buying a standard Prius hybrid instead. Overall, the secret shoppers reported that only 13 dealers “discouraged sale of EV,” with seven of them being in New York. However, at 35 of the 85 dealerships visited, the secret shoppers said sales people recommended buying a gasoline-powered car instead.

The ITS-Davis study also found that a small but influential minority of dealers have introduced new approaches to better meet the needs of plug-in customers. Examples include marketing carpool lane stickers, enrolling buyers in charging networks, and preparing incentive paperwork for customers. Some dealers assign seasoned sales people as plug-in experts, many of whom drive plug-ins themselves to learn and be familiar with the technology and relate the car’s benefits to potential buyers. The study concluded also that carmakers could do much more to support dealers selling PEVs.

Government incentives

Several national and local governments around the world have established tax credits, grants and other financial and non-financial incentives for consumers to purchase a plug-in electric vehicle as a policy to promote the introduction and mass market adoption of this type of vehicles.

Asia

In May 2009 the Japanese Diet passed the "Green Vehicle Purchasing Promotion Measure" that went into effect on June 19, 2009, but retroactive to April 10, 2009. The program established tax deductions and exemptions for environmentally friendly and fuel efficient vehicles, according to a set of stipulated environmental performance criteria, and the requirements are applied equally to both foreign and domestically produced vehicles. The program provides purchasing subsidies for two type of cases, consumers purchasing a new passenger car without trade-in (non-replacement program), and for those consumers buying a new car trading an used car registered 13 years ago or earlier (scrappage program).

On June 1, 2010, The Chinese government announced a trial program to provide incentives up to 60,000 yuan (~US$8,785) for private purchase of new battery electric vehicles and 50,000 yuan (~US$7,320) for plug-in hybrids in five cities.

Europe

As of 2010, 17 of the 27 European Union member states provide tax incentives for electrically chargeable vehicles. The incentives consist of tax reductions and exemptions, as well as of bonus payments for buyers of PEVs and hybrid vehicles.

In the UK the Plug-in Car Grant scheme provided a 25% incentive towards the cost of new plug-in electric cars that qualify as ultra-low carbon vehicles, capped at GB£5,000 (US$7,800) until February 2016. Both private and business fleet buyers are eligible for the government grant. In December 2015, the Department for Transport (DfT) announced that Plug-in car grant was extended to encourage more than 100,000 UK motorists to buy cleaner vehicles. The criteria for the Plug-in Car Grant was updated and the maximum grant dropped from GB£5,000 (~US$7,450) to GB£4,500 (~US$6,700). The eligible ultra-low emission vehicles (ULEVs) must meet criteria in one of three categories depending on emission levels (CO₂ emissions bands between 50 and 75g/km) and zero-emission-capable mileage (minimum of 10 mi (16 km)).

A price cap is in place, with all Category 1 plug-in vehicles eligible for the full grant no matter what their purchase price, while Category 2 and 3 models with a list price of more than GB£60,000 (~US$90,000) will not be eligible for the grant. Vehicles with a zero-emission range of at least 70 miles (110 km) (category 1), including hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, will get a full GB£4,500 (~US$6,700), but plug-in hybrids (categories 2 and 3) costing under GB£60,000 (~US$90,000) will receive GB£2,500 (~US$3,725). Under the extended scheme, some plug-in hybrid sports car will no longer be eligible for the grant, such as the BMW i8 because of its GB£100,000 (~US$150,000) purchase price tag. The updated scheme came into force on 1 March 2016.

Germany approved an incentive scheme in April 2016 with a budget of €1 billion (US$1.13 billion). The cost of the purchase incentive is shared equally between the government and automakers. Electric car buyers get a €4,000 (US$4,520) discount while buyers of plug-in hybrid vehicles get a discount of €3,000 (US$3,390). Premium cars, such as the Tesla Model S and BMW i8, are not eligible to the incentive because there is a cap of €60,000 (US$67,800) for the purchase price. Only electric vehicles purchased after 18 May 2016 are eligible for the bonus and the owner must keep the new electric car at least nine months. The same rule applies for leasing. The online application system to claim the bonus went into effect on 2 July 2016. As of September 2016, BMW, Citroën, Daimler, Ford, Hyundai, Kia, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Peugeot, Renault, Toyota, Volkswagen, and Volvo had signed up to participate in the scheme.

North America

In the United States the Energy Improvement and Extension Act of 2008, and later the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (ACES) granted tax credits for new qualified plug-in electric vehicles. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) also authorized federal tax credits for converted plug-ins, though the credit is lower than for new PEVs.

The federal tax credit for new plug-in electric vehicles is worth $2,500 plus $417 for each kilowatt-hour of battery capacity over 5 kWh, and the portion of the credit determined by battery capacity cannot exceed $5,000. Therefore, the total amount of the credit allowed for a new PEV is $7,500. Several states have established incentives and tax exemptions for BEVs and PHEV, and other non-monetary incentives.

President Barack Obama set the goal of bringing 1 million plug-in electric vehicles on the road by 2015. However, considering the actual slow rate of PEV sales, as of mid-2012 several industry observers have concluded that this goal is unattainable. In September 2014 Governor of California Jerry Brown signed a bill, the Charge Ahead California Initiative, that sets a goal of placing at least 1 million zero-emission vehicles and near-zero-emission vehicles on the road in California by January 1, 2023.

Ontario established a rebate between CA$5,000 to CA$8,500 (~US$4,900 to US$8,320), depending on battery size, for purchasing or leasing a new plug-in electric vehicle after July 1, 2010. The rebates are available to the first 10,000 applicants who qualify.

Quebec offers rebates of up to CA$8,500 (US$8,485) from January 1, 2012, for the purchase of new plug-in electric vehicles equipped with a minimum of 4 kWh battery, and new hybrid electric vehicles are eligible for a CA$1,000 rebate. All-electric vehicles with high-capacity battery packs are eligible for the full C$8,000 rebate, and incentives are reduced for low-range electric cars and plug-in hybrids.

Production plug-in electric vehicles available

During the 1990s several highway-capable plug-in electric cars were produced in limited quantities, all were battery electric vehicles. PSA Peugeot Citroën launched several electric "Électrique" versions of its models starting in 1991, notably the Citroën C15, C25 and Berlingo and Peugeot J5 and Partner panel vans and the Citroën AX and Saxo and Peugeot 106 superminis. The Saxo was the best-selling and most produced ever electric car at the time. Other models were available through leasing mainly in California. Popular models included the General Motors EV1 and the Toyota RAV4 EV. Some of the latter were sold to the public and are in use still today. In the late 2000s began a new wave of mass production plug-in electric cars, motorcycles and light trucks. However, as of 2011, most electric vehicles in the world roads were low-speed, low-range neighborhood electric vehicles (NEVs) or electric quadricycles. Pike Research estimated there were almost 479,000 NEVs on the world roads in 2011. Just in China, a total of 200,000 low-speed small electric cars were sold in 2013, most of which are powered by lead-acid batteries. An additional 600,000 low-speed small electric passenger vehicles were sold in China in 2015, and more than 700,000 during the first ten months of 2016. As of October 2015, the GEM neighborhood electric vehicle is the market leader in North America, with global sales of more than 50,000 units since 1998.

As of December 2016, there are over 60 models of highway-capable plug-in electric passenger cars and light-utility vans available in the world. As of August 2015, there were 45 different plug-in electric passenger car models offered in Europe, 20 available in North America, 19 in China, 14 in Japan, and 7 in Australia. There are also available several commercial models of plug-in motorcycles, all-electric buses, and heavy-duty trucks.

Cumulative global sales of highway legal plug-in electric passenger cars and light utility vehicles passed the one million unit milestone in September 2015, and two million in December 2016. The Renault-Nissan Alliance is the world's leading all-electric vehicle manufacturer. The Alliance reached sales of 424,797 all-electric vehicles delivered globally at the end of 2016, including the pure electrics manufactured by Mitsubishi Motors, now part of the Alliance. The Alliance, including Mitsubishi Motors i-Miev series, sold globally 94,265 all-electric vehicles in 2016. Nissan alone totaled 275,000 global electric vehicle sales in December 2016. Renault global electric vehicle sales passed the 100,000 unit milestone in September 2016.

BYD Auto is the world's second largest plug-in electric car manufacturer with more than 188,000 units delivered in China through December 2016. Its Qin plug-in hybrid is the company's top selling model with over 68,000 units sold in China through December 2016, making it the all-time best-selling plug-in electric car in the country. As of December 2016, Tesla is the world's third largest plug-in electric vehicle manufacturer with more than 186,000 electric cars worldwide since delivery of its first Tesla Roadster in 2008. Its Model S has been the world's top selling plug-in car for two years running, 2015 and 2016.

Ranking next is Mitsubishi Motors with global sales of over 152,000 plug-in electric vehicles since 2009 through August 2016, consisting of all-electric cars of the Mitsubishi i-MiEV family, all-electric Mitsubishi Minicab MiEV utility vans and trucks, and the plug-in hybrid Mitsubishi Outlander P-HEV. Next is General Motors with combined global sales since December 2010 of almost 113,000 vehicles through December 2015, consisting of over 106,000 plug-in hybrids of the Volt/Ampera family, over 4,300 Chevrolet Spark EVs, and over 2,400 Cadillac ELRs. As of early November 2016, BMW has sold 100,000 plug-in cars, accounting for global sales its BMW i cars and BMW iPerformance plug-in hybrid models.

BYD Auto ended 2015 as the world's best selling manufacturer of highway legal light-duty plug-in electric vehicles, with 61,722 units sold, mostly plug-in hybrids, followed by Tesla, with 50,580 units sold in 2015. BYD was the world's top selling plug-in car manufacturer for a second year running, with 101,183 units sold in 2016, up 64% from 2015, and one more time followed again by Tesla with 76,243 units delivered. However, in terms of sales revenue, Tesla ranked ahead with US$6.35 billion from its electric car sales in 2016, while BYD sales totaled US$3.88 billion from its electric car division. In September 2016, combined sales of Tesla models totaled over 13,000 units worldwide, setting the record as the best monthly plug-in sales volume ever, by any automaker of plug-in cars.

Sales and main markets

By mid-September 2015, the global stock of highway legal plug-in electric passenger cars and utility vans reached the one million sales milestone. Sales of plug-in electric vehicles achieved the one million milestone almost twice as fast as hybrid electric vehicles (HEV). While it took four years and 10 months to reach one-million PEV sales, it took more than around nine years and a few months for HEVs to reach its first million sales. The global ratio between all-electrics (BEVs) and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) has consistently been 60:40 between 2014 and the first half of 2016, mainly due to the large all-electric market in China. In the U.S. and Europe, the ratio is approaching a 50:50 split. All-electric cars have oversold plug-in hybrids, with pure electrics representing about 61% of the global stock of over 2 million plug-ins on the world's roads by the end of 2016, up from 58.9% at the end of 2015. Cumulative global sales of highway-capable light-duty pure electric vehicles since 2010 achieved the one million unit milestone in September 2016. The global stock of plug-in hybrid cars totaled almost 800,000 units at the end of 2016.

The global stock of plug-in electric vehicles between 2005 and 2009 consisted exclusively of all-electric cars, totaling about 1,700 units in 2005, and almost 6,000 in 2009. The plug-in stock rose to about 12,500 units in 2010, of which, only 350 vehicles were plug-in hybrids. By comparison, during the Golden Age of the electric car at the beginning of the 20th century, the EV stock peaked at approximately 30,000 vehicles. After the introduction of the Nissan Leaf and the Chevrolet Volt in late December 2010, the first mass-production plug-in cars by major carmakers, plug-in car sales grew to about 50,000 units in 2011, jumped to 125,000 in 2012, and rose to almost 213,000 plug-in electric cars and utility vans in 2013. Sales totaled over 315,000 units in 2014, up 48% from 2013,

In five years, global sales of highway legal light-duty plug-in electric vehicles have increased more than ten-fold, totaling more than 565,000 units in 2015. Plug-in sales in 2015 increased about 80% from 2014, driven mainly by China and Europe. Both markets passed in 2105 the U.S. as the largest plug-in electric car markets in terms of total annual sales, with China ranking as the world's best-selling plug-in electric passenger car country market in 2015. About 775,000 plug-in cars and vans were sold in 2016, and cumulative global sales totaled an estimated 2.032 million plug-in cars and utility vans by the end of 2016. The global market share of the light-duty plug-in vehicle segment achieved a record 0.86% of total new car sales in 2016, up from 0.62% in 2015 and 0.38% in 2014. Despite the rapid growth experienced, the plug-in electric car segment represented just 0.15% of the 1.4 billion motor vehicles on the world's roads by the end of 2016, up from 0.1% in 2015.

As of December 2016, with cumulative sales of more than 645,000 plug-in electric passenger cars, China has the world's largest fleet of light-duty plug-in electric vehicles, after having overtook during 2016 both the U.S. and Europe in terms of cumulative sales. This figure accounts for both, domestically produced new energy passenger cars and imports. The fleet of Chinese plug-in cars represents 43.0% of the global stock of light-duty plug-in vehicles at the end of 2016. Among country markets, the U.S. ranks second, with over 570,000 plug-in passenger cars sold through December 2016, representing 28.1% of the global stock of plug-ins. Japan has the world's third largest plug-in stock, with about 147,500 highway legal plug-in electric vehicles sold in the country between July 2009 and December 2016. As of December 2016, about 637,500 plug-in electric passenger cars and vans have been registered in Europe, representing 31.4% of the global stock, the second largest after China. The region was the world's largest light-duty plug-in market until October 2016.

As of December 2016, more than 951,000 new energy vehicles have been sold in China since 2011, making the country the world's leader when all plug-in automotive segments are considered, including passenger cars, electric buses, and commercial plug-in hevay-duty trucks. The stock of new energy vehicles in China achieved the 500,000 unit milestone in March 2016. As of December 2015, China was the world's largest electric bus market with close to 173,000 plug-in electric buses, representing almost the entire global stock of plug-in buses. The production of all-electric buses totaled 115,664 units in 2016, up 31% from 88,248 units produced in 2015.

During 2014, four of the ten top selling countries achieved plug-in electric car sales with a market share higher than 1% of new car sales. Also two small countries achieved this mark in 2014. In 2015 nine countries achieved plug-in electric car sales with a market share equal or higher than 1% of total new car sales.' In 2015 the European plug-in passenger car market share passed the one percent mark (1.41%) for the first time. The following table presents the top 10 countries according to their PEV market share of total new car sales between 2016 and 2013. The market share for two selected regions, Europe and California, and one autonomous territory, Hong Kong, is also shown.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, combined sales of plug-in hybrids and battery electric cars in the American market climbed more rapidly and outsold by more than double sales of hybrid-electric vehicles over their respective 24 month introductory periods. A 2016 analysis by the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) found that 5 years after its introduction, sales of plug-in electric cars in the U.S. continued to outsell conventional hybrids. An analysis by Scientific American found a similar trend at the international level when considering the global top selling PEVs over a 36-month introductory period. Monthly sales of the Volt, Prius PHV and Leaf performed better than the conventional Prius during their respective introductory periods, with the exception of the Mitsubishi i-MiEV, which has been outsold most of the time by the Prius HEV over their 36-month introductory periods.

According to Pike Research, global sales of plug-ins will surpass 1 million per year in 2017, after 7 years in the market and almost half the time it took hybrid electric vehicles to reach that sales threshold. Toyota's chairman, Takeshi Uchiyamada, said in February 2017, that he "expects the latest plug-in hybrid vehicles will catch on with consumers far more rapidly than the original Prius did." As environmental awareness has become a major issue, and as technology for plug-ins has developed rapidly reducing costs, he expects Toyota to sell 1 million plug-in hybrids in less than 10 years, the time it took for sales of Toyota's conventional hybrid vehicles to hit that mark.

Research published by Bloomberg New Energy Finance in February 2016 predicts that as battery prices continue to fall, light-duty electric vehicles without government subsidies will be as affordable as internal combustion engine cars in most countries by the mid-2020s. As a result, the study forecasts that annual sales of electric vehicles will hit 41 million by 2040, representing 35% of new light duty vehicle sales. In another scenario the study considers that if new carsharing services are successful, together with the adoption of autonomous cars, they could boost electric-vehicle market share to 50% of new car saless by 2040. On the other hand, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in its 2015 World Oil Outlook projected that the market share of battery electric cars and fuel cell cars will remain below 1% in 2040, while the share of hybrid electric cars is projected to grow from 1% in 2013 to 14% in 2040.

BP in its 2017 Energy Outlook forecasts that the number of plug-in electric cars will rise from 1.2 million in 2015 to around 100 million by 2035 representing about 5.5% of the global fleet of passenger cars. Around 25% of these plug-in electric vehicles will be plug-in hybrids and 75% will be pure battery electric cars. The oil company also projects that automotive fuel demand for use in cars will continue to rise, despite efficiency improvements in conventional internal combustion engines and increased plug-in car adoption due to growth in demand for car travel from the growing middle class in emerging economies.

China

New energy vehicle sales in China totaled 951,447 units between January 2011 and December 2016. These figures include heavy-duty commercial vehicles such buses and sanitation trucks, and only include vehicles manufactured in the country as imports are not subject to government subsidies. As of September 2016, the Chinese stock of plug-in electric vehicles consisted of about 540,000 all-electric vehicles (73.7%) and almost 193,000 plug-in hybrids (26.3%) sold since 2011. As of December 2015, the global stock of plug-in electric buses was estimated to be about 173,000 units, almost entirely deployed in China, the world's largest electric bus market. Of these, almost 150,000 are all-electric buses. The Chinese electric bus stock grew nearly sixfold between 2014 and 2015.

As of December 2016, cumulative sales of domestically produced highway legal plug-in electric passenger cars totaled 632,371 units since 2005. As of September 2016, the Chinese plug-in stock represented 29.2% of the global light-duty plug-in stock. Domestically produced cars account for 96% of new energy car sales in China. A particular feature of the Chinese passenger plug-in market is the dominance of small entry level vehicles. In 2015, all-electric car sales in the mini and small segments (A-segment) represented 87% of total pure electric car sales, while 96% of total plug-in hybrid car sales were in the compact segment (C-segment).

In September 2016, the Chinese stock of plug-in passenger cars reached the same level of the American stock, and by November 2016, China’s cumulative total plug-in passenger vehicles sales had surpassed those of Europe, allowing China to become the market with the world's largest stock of light-duty plug-in electric vehicles, with almost 600,000 plug-in passenger cars. China also surpassed the U.S. and Europe in terms of annual sales of light-duty plug-in electric vehicles, both in calendar years 2015 and current-year-to-date through November.

New energy vehicle sales during 2014 reached 74,763 units, up 320% from 2013, and representing a market share of 0.32% of the 23.5 million new car sales sold that year. Of these, 71% were passenger cars, 27% buses, and 1% trucks. The BYD Qin plug-in hybrid, introduced in December 2013, ranked as the top selling plug-in electric car in China in 2014 with 14,747 units sold, and became the country's top selling passenger NEV ever. Domestically produced new energy vehicle sales in 2015 totaled a record 331,092 units.

Sales of plug-in passenger cars, excluding imports, totaled 207,380 units in 2015, making China the world's best-selling plug-in electric car country market in 2015. The plug-in electric passenger car segment market share rose to 0.84% in 2015, up from 0.25% in 2014. The top selling passenger models in 2015 were the BYD Qin plug-in hybrid with 31,898 units sold, followed by the BYD Tang (18,375). As a reflex of the explosive growth of the Chinese plug-in electric car market in 2015, BYD Auto ended 2015 as the world's best selling manufacturer of highway legal light-duty plug-in electric vehicles, with around 60,000 units sold, ahead of Tesla (50,580). During the first three quarters of 2016, BYD continued as the world's top selling plug-in car manufacturer with over 74,000 units delivered in China.

The stock of new energy vehicles sold in China since 2011 achieved the 500,000 unit milestone in March 2016, making the country the world's leader in the plug-in heavy-duty segment, including electric buses and plug-in trucks. Cumulative sales of new energy passenger cars achieved the 500,000 unit milestone in September 2016, excluding imports. A total of 209,359 new energy passenger cars were sold in the first three quarters of 2016, up 122% year-on-year, consisting of about 145,000 all-electric cars, up 170% year-on-year, and about 65,000 plug-in hybrids, up 60% year-on-year. The plug-in segment market share totaled 1.08% of new car sales during the period. Three BYD Auto models topped the Chinese ranking of best-selling new energy passenger cars in 2016. The BYD Tang plug-in hybrid SUV was the top selling plug-in car with 31,405 units delivered, followed by the BYD Qin (21,868), and the BYD e6 (20,605). As of December 2016, the BYD Qin, with 68,655 units sold since its inception, remains the all-time top selling plug-in electric car in the country.

United States

As of December 2016, cumulative sales totaled 570,187 highway legal plug-in electric cars in the U.S. since the market launch of the Tesla Roadster in 2008, accounting for 28.1% of the global light-duty plug-in stock, down from about 40% in 2014. As of December 2016, the U.S. has the world's third largest stock of plug-in passenger cars, after having being overtook by Europe in 2015 and China during 2016. California is the largest U.S. car market, and accounts for approximately 48% percent of cumulative plug-in sales in the American market from 2011 to June 2016, and also accounts for about 50% of nationwide all-electric car sales and 47% of total plug-in hybrid sales. The other nine states that follow California's Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) regulations have accounted for another 10% of cumulative plug-in car sales in the U.S. during the same period. California's plug-in stock totaled about 270,000 units at the end of 2016.

Nationwide sales climbed from 17,800 units delivered in 2011 to 53,200 during 2012, and reached 97,100 in 2013. During 2014 plug-in electric car sales totaled 123,248 units, and fell to 114,248 in 2015. A total of 157,181 plug-in cars were sold in 2016, up 37.6% from 2015. The market share of plug-in electric passenger cars increased from 0.14% of new car sales in 2011 to 0.37% in 2012, 0.62% in 2013, and reached 0.75% of new car sales in 2014. As plug-in car sales slowed down during 2015, the segment's market share fell to 0.66% of new car sales, and increased to 0.90% in 2016. The highest-ever monthly market share for plug-in electric vehicles was achieved in December 2016 with 1.39% of new car sales. The previous record was set in September 2016 (1.12%) marking the first time the plug-in segment market share passed the 1% mark in the U.S. December 2016 is also the best monthly plug-in sales volume on record ever, with 23,288 units delivered. California plug-in sales achieved a 3.1% market share in 2015, 4.7 times higher than the U.S.

As of December 2016, total sales are led by the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid with 113,489 units, followed by the Nissan Leaf all-electric car with 103,597 units delivered. Both plug-in cars were released in December 2010. The Tesla Model S ranks as the third top selling plug-in electric car with an estimated 92,317 units sold through December 2016, followed by the Prius PHV, launched in February 2012, with 44,767 units. Ranking fifth is the Ford Fusion Energi with 43,327 units, followed by the Ford C-Max Energi with 33,509 units delivered through December 2016. Plug-in electric car sales in 2014 were led by the Nissan Leaf with 30,200 units. The Tesla Model S was the top selling plug-in car in the U.S. in 2015 with 25,202 units delivered. For a second year on a row, the Model S was the top selling plug-in car in the U.S. with about 29,156 units sold in 2016, followed by the Volt with 24,739, Model X with about 18,028, Ford Fusion Energi with 15,938, and the Nissan Leaf with 14,006 units.

Japan

As of December 2016, the stock of light-duty plug-in electric vehicles in Japan is the world's third largest after China and the United States, with about 147,500 highway legal plug-in electric vehicles sold in the country since 2009. The Japanese stock of plug-in vehicles represented 7.3% of cumulative global sales as of December 2016. Plug-in segment sales climbed from 1,080 units in 2009 to 12,630 in 2011, and reached 24,440 in 2012. Global sales of pure electric cars in 2012 were led by Japan with a 28% market share of the segment sales. Japan ranked second after the U.S. in terms of its share of plug-in hybrid sales in 2012, with 12% of global sales. A total of 30,587 highway-capable plug-in electric vehicles were sold in Japan in 2013.

The plug-in segment sales remained flat in 2014 with 30,390 units sold, and a market share of 1.06% of total new car sales in the country (kei cars not included). Sales totaled 24,660 units in 2015, consisting of 10,420 all-electrics and 14,190 plug-in hybrids. The rate of growth of the Japanese plug-in segment slowed down from 2013, with annual sales falling behind Europe, the U.S. and China during 2014 and 2015. The decline in plug-in car sales reflects the Japanese government and the major domestic carmakers decision to adopt and promote hydrogen fuel cell vehicles instead of plug-in electric vehicles.

Sales of the plug-in electric segment in 2013 were led by the Nissan Leaf with 13,021 units sold, up from 11,115 in 2012. The Mitsubishi Outlander P-HEV ranked second with 9,608 units sold in 2013. The Leaf continued as the market leader in 2014 for the fourth year running with 14,177 units sold, followed by the Outlander P-HEV with 10,064 units, together representing about 80% of the plug-in segment sales in Japan in 2014. In 2015 the Outlander plug-in hybrid was the top selling plug-in electric car in the country with 10,996 units sold, followed by the Leaf with 9,057 units. Cumulative sales of plug-in electric cars since 2009 totaled 126,420 units at the end of 2015.

Leaf sales in 2016 achieved a record of 14,795 units delivered, surpassing the previous record set in 2014. Since December 2010, Nissan has sold 72,494 Leafs through December 2016, making the Leaf the all-time best-selling plug-in car in the country. Between January and August 2016, a total of 4,162 Outlander P-HEVs were sold in Japan. Sales of the Outlander plug-in hybrid fell sharply from April 2016 as a result of Mitsubishi's fuel mileage scandal. Since its inception, sales of the plug-in hybrid totaled 34,830 units through August 2016.

Europe

As of December 2016, about 637,500 plug-in electric passenger cars and vans have been registered in Europe, representing 31.4% of the global stock, the second largest after China. Of these, more than 212,000 light-duty vehicles were registered in Europe in 2016 (33.2%). As of December 2016, European sales of plug-in cars and vans are led by Norway with over 135,000 units registered, followed by the Netherlands with more than 113,000 units, and France with over 108,000. Norway was the top selling plug-in country market in Europe in 2016 with 45,492 plug-in cars and vans registered, surpassing the Netherlands, Europe’s top market in 2015. The other top selling European markets in terms of cumulative registrations, are the UK with about 91,000 units, followed by Germany with almost 75,000, and Sweden with over 30,500.

Cumulative sales of light-duty plug-in electric vehicles in Europe passed the 500,000 unit milestone in May 2016. Norway passed the 100,000th registered plug-in unit milestone in April 2016, France passed the same milestone in September 2016, and the Netherlands in November 2016. The UK is expected to pass the 100,000 unit mark in the second quarter of 2017.

As of December 2015, France ranked as the largest European market for light-duty electric commercial vehicles or utility vans, accounting for nearly half of all vans sold in the European Union. The French market share of all-electric utility vans reached a market share of 1.22% of new vans registered in 2014, and 1.30% in 2015. Denmark is the second largest European market, with over 2,600 plug-in electric vans sold in 2015, with an 8.5% market share of all vans sold in the country. Most of the van sold in the Danish market are plug-in hybrids, accounting for almost all of the plug-in hybrid van sales across the EU.

A total of 1,614 all-electric cars and 1,305 light-utility vehicles were sold in 2010. Sales jumped from 2,919 units in 2010 to 13,779 in 2011, consisting of 11,271 pure electric cars and 2,508 commercial vans. In addition, over 300 plug-in hybrids were sold in 2011, mainly Opel Amperas. Light-duty plug-in vehicle sales totaled 34,333 units in 2012, consisting of 24,713 all-electric cars and vans, and 9,620 plug-in hybrids. The Opel/Vauxhall Ampera plug-in hybrid was Europe's top selling plug-in electric car in 2012 with 5,268 units, closely followed by the all-electric Nissan Leaf with 5,210 units.

The plug-in segment sales more than double to 71,943 units in 2013. Pure electric passenger and light commercial vehicles sales increased by 63.9% to 40,496 units. In addition, a total of 31,477 extended-range cars and plug-in hybrids were sold in 2013. Registrations reached 104,746 light-duty plug-in electric vehicles in 2014, up 45.6% from 2013. A total of 65,199 pure electric cars and light-utility vehicles were registered in Europe in 2014, up 60.9% from 2013. All-electric passenger cars represented 87% of the European all-electric segment registrations. Extended-range cars and plug-in hybrid registrations totaled 39,547 units in 2014, up 25.8% from 2013.

During 2013 took place a surge in sales of plug-in hybrids in the European market, particularly in the Netherlands, with 20,164 PHEVs registered during the year. Out of the 71,943 highway-capable plug-in electric passenger cars and utility vans sold in the region during 2013, plug-in hybrids totaled 31,447 units, representing 44% of the plug-in electric vehicle segment sales that year. This trend continued in 2014. Plug-in hybrids represented almost 30% of the plug-in electric drive sales during the first six months of 2014, and with the exception of the Nissan Leaf, sales of the previous European best selling models fell significantly, while recently introduced models captured a significant share of the segment sales, with the Mitsubishi Outlander P-HEV, Tesla Model S, BMW i3, Renault Zoe, Volkswagen e-Up!, and the Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid ranking among the top ten best selling models.

In 2014 Norway was the top selling country in the light-duty all-electric market segment, with 18,649 passenger cars and utility vans registered, more than doubling its 2013 sales. France ranked second with 15,046 units registered, followed by Germany with 8,804 units, the UK with 7,730 units, and the Netherlands with 3,585 car and vans registrations. In the plug-in hybrid segment, the Netherlands was the top selling country in 2014 with 12,425 passenger cars registered, followed by the UK with 7,821, Germany with 4,527, and Sweden 3,432 units. Five European countries achieved plug-in electric car sales with a market share higher than 1% of new car sales in 2014, Norway (13.84%), the Netherlands (3.87%), Iceland (2.71%), Estonia (1.57%), and Sweden (1.53%).

In 2013 the top selling plug-in was the Leaf with 11,120 units sold, followed by the Outlander P-HEV with 8,197 units. The Mitsubishi Outlander plug-in hybrid was the top selling plug-in electric vehicle in Europe in 2014 with 19,853 units sold, surpassing of the Nissan Leaf (14,658), which fell to second place. Ranking third was the Renault Zoe with 11,231 units.

For a second year running, the Mitsubishi’s Outlander P-HEV was the top selling plug-in electric car in Europe with 31,214 units sold in 2015, up 57% from 2014. The Renault Zoe ranked second among plug-in electric cars, with 18,727 registrations, and surpassed the Nissan Leaf to become best selling pure electric car in Europe in 2015. Ranking next were the Volkswagen Golf GTE plug-in hybrid (17,300), followed by the all-electric Tesla Model S (15,515) and the Nissan Leaf (15,455), the BMW i3, including its REx variant, (12,047), and the Audi A3 e-tron plug-in hybrid (11,791).

The Netherlands was the top selling country in the European light-duty plug-in electric market segment, with 43,971 passenger cars and utility vans registered in 2015. Norway ranked second with 34,455 units registered, followed by the UK with 28,188 units, France with 27,701 car and vans registrations, and Germany with 23,464 plug-in cars. Eight European countries achieved plug-in electric car sales with a market share higher than 1% of new car sales in 2015, Norway (22.4%), the Netherlands (9.7%), Iceland (2.9%), Sweden (2.6%), Denmark (2.3%), Switzerland (2.0%), France (1.2%) and the UK (1.1%). As of December 2015, almost 25% of the European plug-in stock was registered in the Nordic countries, with over 100,000 units registered. In 2015, combined registrations in the four countries were up 91% from 2014.

For the first time in the region, in 2015 plug-in hybrids (95,140) outsold all-electric cars (89,640) in the passenger car segment, however, when light-duty plug-in utility vehicles are accounted for, the all-electric segment totaled 97,687 registrations in 2015, up 65,199 in 2014, and ahead of the plug-in hybrid segment. Also in 2015, the European market share of plug-in electric cars passed the 1% mark for the first time, with a 1.41% share of new car sales that year. This trend continue during 2016. Since April 2016 plug-in hybrids have outsold all-electric cars, and the gap has continued to widen. Accounting for passenger plug-in car sales in Western Europe between January and July 2016, plug-in hybrids captured almost 54% of the region's plug-in market sales. During 2016 the all-electric car segment ended with a market share of 0.57% of new car sales, while plug-in hybrids reached a market share of 0.73%.

European sales of plug-in electric cars passed 200,000 units for the first time in 2016. The plug-in segment achieved a market share of 1.3% of total new car sales in 2016. Norway was the top selling plug-in car country in Europe in 2016 with 45,492 plug-in cars and vans registered, followed by the UK with about 36,907 units, France with 33,774, Germany with 25,154, the Netherlands with 24,645, and Sweden with 13,454. France was the top selling market in the light-duty all-electric segment with 27,307 units registered, up 23% from 2015. The plug-in car segment of ten European countries achieved a market share of new car sales above 1%, led by Norway with 29.1%, followed by the Netherlands with 6.4%, 6.4 %, Sweden with 3.5%, and Switzerland with 1.8%.

The Renault Zoe was the best-selling all-electric car in Europe in 2016 with 21,735 units delivered, and also topped European sales in the broader plug-in electric car segment, ahead of the Outlander P-HEV, the top selling plug-in in the previous two years. The Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV with 21,446 units sold was the second best-selling plug-in car, followed by the Nissan Leaf with 18,718. The Outlander PHEV has been Europe's best-selling plug-in hybrid vehicle for four years in a row, from 2013 to 2016. The top selling all-electric commercial van was the Nissan e-NV200 with 4,319 units registered. As of December 2016, the Mitsubishi Outlander P-HEV is the all-time top selling plug-in electric car in the region with 80,768 units delivered, followed by the Nissan Leaf with 67,654 units, Renault Zoe with 60,625 units, Tesla Model S with 38,716, and the BMW i3 with 38,267 units. The Renault Kangoo Z.E. is the all-time top selling all-electric utility van with 24,917 units.

Norway

As of December 2016, a total of 135,276 light-duty plug-in electric vehicles have been registered, making Norway the European country with the largest stock of plug-in cars and vans, and the fourth largest in the world. As of 31 December 2016, and accounting for both new and used imports registrations, the Norwegian light-duty plug-in electric fleet consisted of 101,126 all-electric passenger cars and vans, and 34,383 plug-in hybrids. These figures account for both new and used imports registrations. Sales of used imports in Norway are significant, with more than 15,000 used imported electric cars have been registered from neighboring countries as of December 2016. The government's target of 50,000 all-electric cars on Norwegian roads was reached in April 2015, more than two years earlier than expected, thanks to the successful policies implemented to promote electric vehicle adoption that include fiscal and non-monetary incentives. The milestone of 100,000 light-duty plug-in electric vehicles registered was achieved in April 2016, and 100,000 all-electric vehicles in December 2016, representing about 10% of all pure electric cars that have been sold worldwide.

The Norwegian fleet of plug-in electric cars is one of the cleanest in the world because 98% of the electricity generated in the country comes from hydropower. Norway, with about 5.2 million people, is the country with the largest EV ownweship per capita in the world. In March 2014, Norway became the first country where over one in every 100 registered passenger cars is plug-in electric. The plug-in car market penetration reached 2% in March 2015, passed 3% in December 2015, and achieved 5% at the end of 2016.

Also the Norwegian plug-in electric vehicle market share of new car sales is the highest in the world. The electric car segment market share rose from 1.6% in 2011, to 3.1% in 2012, and reached 5.6% of new car sales in 2013. In 2014, the all-electric market share climbed to 13.8% accounting for plug-in hybrids. The combined sales of new plug-in cars reached a market share of 23.4% in 2015. A record market share of 29.1% was achieved in 2016. The highest ever monthly market share for the plug-in electric passenger segment was achieved in January 2017 with 37.5% of new car sales. Also in January 2017 the electrified passenger car segment for the first time ever surpassed combined sales of cars with conventional diesel or gasoline engines. Sales of plug-in hybrids, all-electric cars and conventional hybrids achieved a combined market share of 51.4% of new car sales that month.

Also, Norway was the first country in the world to have all-electric cars topping the new car sales monthly ranking. The Tesla Model S has been the top selling new car four times, and the Nissan Leaf has topped the monthly new car sales ranking twice. In March 2014 the Tesla Model S also broke the 28-year-old record for monthly sales of a single model regardless of its power source, surpassing the previous record set in May 1986. In July 2016, when new car registrations are break down by type of powertrain, for the first time a plug-in hybrid, the Mitsubishi Outlander P-HEV, listed as the top selling new car. In September 2016, the Tesla Model X ranked as the top selling new car model in Norway when registrations are broken down by type of powetrain. The BMW i3 was the top selling new car model in the country in November 2016.

A total of 50,875 plug-in electric vehicles were registered in Norway in 2016, consisting of 24,222 new electric cars, 5,281 used imported all-electric cars, 20,663 new plug-in hybrid cars, 607 new all-electric vans, and 102 used imported all-electric vans. New light-duty plug-in registrations totaled 45,492 plug-in cars and vans registered, up 32% from 2015, and making Norway the top selling plug-in country market in Europe in 2016, surpassing the Netherlands, Europe’s top market in 2015.

Registrations achieved a market share of 29.1% of all new passenger cars registered in 2016, with the all-electric car segment reaching 15.7%, down from 17.1% in 2015, and the plug-in hybrid segment climbed to 13.4%, up from 5.3% in 2015. The Outlander PHEV ended 2016 listed as the best selling plug-in car in Norway with 5,136 units sold, the first time ever a plug-in hybrid topped the Norwegian list of top selling plug-in electric cars. Ranking next were the Volkswagen e-Golf (4,705), Volkswagen Golf GTE (4,337), and Nissan Leaf (4,162). When new car sales in 2016 are breakdown by powertrain or fuel, nine of the top ten best-selling models were electric-drive models, of which three models were plug-in hybrids, three were battery electric cars, three were conventional hybrids, and one was a diesel-powered car.

As of 30 December 2016, the Nissan Leaf remains as the all-time best selling plug-in electric car in the country with a total of 19,407 new Leafs registered since 2011. When used imported Leafs are accounted for, there were 27,115 Leafs on Norwegian roads at the end of November 2016. Ranking second is the VW e-Golf with 16,216 units registered followed by the Tesla Model S with 11,878 units. As of December 2016, the Outlander PHEV is the all-time top selling plug-in hybrid car with 9,499 new units registered since 2013.

Netherlands

As of 31 December 2016, there were 113,636 highway legal light-duty plug-in electric vehicles registered in the Netherlands, consisting of 98,903 range-extended and plug-in hybrids, 13,105 pure electric cars, and 1,628 all-electric light utility vans. When buses, trucks, motorcycles, quadricycles and tricycles are accounted for, the Dutch plug-in electric-drive fleet climbs to 115,193 units. The country's electric vehicle stock reaches 151,752 units when fuel cell electric vehicles (30), mopeds (3,775), electric bicycles (32,496), and microcars (258) are accounted for. A distinct feature of the Dutch plug-in market is dominance of plug-in hybrids, which represented 87% of the country's stock of passenger plug-in electric cars and vans registered at the end of December 2016.

The Netherlands listed as the world's third best-selling country market for light-duty plug-in vehicles in 2015, with 43,971 units registered that year. Until December 2015, the Netherlands had Europe's largest fleet light-duty plug-in vehicles. Plug-in sales fell sharply during 2016, and as a result, by early October 2016, the Netherlands listed as the third largest European plug-in market, after being surpassed during the year by both Norway and France. As of July 2016, the Netherlands had the second largest plug-in market concentration per capita in the world after Norway. The stock of light-duty plug-in electric vehicles registered in the Netherlands achieved the 100,000 unit milestone in November 2016.

Registrations of plug-in electric car represented a 0.57% share of total new car registrations in the country during 2011 and 2012. During 2013 plug-in electric passenger car registrations totaled 22,415 units, climbing 338% from 2012, the highest rate of growth of any country in the world in 2013. The segment's market share surged almost ten times from 2012 to 5.37% new car sales in the country during that year, the world's second highest in 2013 after Norway (5.6%). The rapid growth of segment during 2013, allowed the Netherlands to reach a plug-in vehicle concentration of around 1.71 vehicles registered per 1,000 people, second only to Norway (4.04). As of July 2016, the plug-in concentration had risen to 5.6 per 1,000 people. The market share of the plug-in electric passenger car segment in 2014 fell to 3.86% of total new passenger car registrations, after the end of some of the tax incentives. With 43,769 plug-in passenger cars registered in 2015, the segment market share rose to a record 9.7% of new car sales in the Dutch market in 2015, the second highest after Norway (22.4%).

In November 2013, a total of 2,736 Mitsubishi Outlander P-HEVs were sold, making the plug-in hybrid the top selling new car in the country that month, representing a market share of 6.8% of all the new cars sold. Again in December 2013, the Outlander P-HEV ranked as the top selling new car in the country with 4,976 units, representing a 12.6% market share of new car sales, contributing to a world record plug-in vehicle market share of 23.8% of new car sales. The Netherlands is the second country, after Norway, where plug-in electric cars have topped the monthly ranking of new car sales. The strong increase of plug-in car sles during the last months of 2013 was due to the end of the total exemption of the registration fee for corporate cars, which is valid for 5 years. From January 1, 2014, all-electric vehicles pay a 4% registration fee and plug-in hybrids a 7% fee.

The top 5 best-selling plug-in electric cars in 2015 were all plug-in hybrids, led by the Mitsubishi Outlander P-HEV (8,757). The top selling all-electric car was the Tesla Model S (1,842). Plug-in car sales achieved its best monthly volume on record ever in December 2015, with about 15,900 units sold, and allowing the segment to reach a record market share of about 23%. The surge in plug-in car sales was due to reduction of the registration fees for plug-in hybrids. From January 1, 2016, all-electric vehicles continue to pay a 4% registration fee, but for a plug-in hybrid the fee rises from 7% to 15% if its CO₂ emissions do not exceed 50 g/km. The rate for a conventional internal combustion car is 25% of its book value.

As a result of the changes in the tax rules that went into force at the beginning of 2016, plug-in electric car sales declined significantly. Sales during the first half of 2016 were down 64% from the same period in 2015. A total of 9,185 plug-in passenger cars were registered in the first three quarters of 2016, consisting of 6,567 plug-in hybrids and 2,618 all-electric cars. The market share of the plug-in car segment captured 3.2% of new car sales during the period. As of December 2016, the Outlander P-HEV remained as the all-time top-selling plug-in car in the country with 25,984 units registered, followed by the Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid (15,804), Volkswagen Golf GTE (10,691), Volkswagen Passat GTE (7,773), Mercedes-Benz C 350 e (6,226), and the Tesla Model S (6,049).

France

As of December 2016, the stock of light-duty plug-in electric vehicles registered in France totaled 108,065 plug-in cars and electric utility vans delivered since 2010, making the country the third largest plug-in market in Europe after Norway and the Netherlands, and the world's sixth. As of September 2016, and accounting for registrations since 2010, the plug-in electric stock consisted of 61,686 all-electric passenger cars, 24,696 all-electric utility vans, and 12,857 plug-in hybrids. The stock of light-duty plug-in electric vehicles registered in France passed the 100,000 unit milestone in October 2016.As of December 2015, France is the country with the world's largest market for light-duty electric commercial vehicles or utility vans. Nearly half of the vans sold in the European Union are sold in France as a result of a national purchase incentive scheme, which French companies have embraced. The market share of all-electric utility vans reached a market share of 1.22% of new vans registered in 2014, and 1.30% in 2015.

Electric car registrations increased from 184 units in 2010 to 2,630 in 2011. Sales in 2012 increased 115% from 2011 to 5,663 cars. Registrations reached 8,779 electric cars in 2013, up 55.0% from 2012, and the all-electric market share of total new car sales went up to 0.49% from 0.3% in 2012. In addition, 5,175 electric utility vans were registered in 2013, up 42% from 2012. Sales of electric passenger cars and utility vans totaled 13,954 units in 2013, capturing a combined market share of 0.65% of these two segments. Almost 1,500 plug-in hybrids were registered during 2012 and 2013, 666 units in 2012, and 808 units in 2013.

A total of 15,045 all-electric cars and vans were registered in 2014, of which, pure electric passenger cars totaled 10,560 units. This figure rises to 10,968 units if the BMW i3 with range extender is accounted for. All-electric utility vans totaled 4,485 units registered in 2014. All-electric cars captured a 0.59% market share of new car registered in France in 2014. Plug-in hybrid car registrations totaled 1,519 units in 2014, almost doubling registrations from a year earlier. Plug-in hybrid sales were driven by the Mitsubishi Outlander P-HEV, with 820 units registered in 2014. The Zoe led all-electric vehicle registration in 2014, with 5,970 units registered, followed by the Kangoo Z.E. van with 2,657 registrations.

A total of 27,701 light-duty plug-in electric vehicles were registered in France in 2015, consisting of 17,779 all-electric cars, 4,916 electric vans, and 5,006 plug-in hybrid cars. All-electric cars captured a 0.9% market share of new passenger car registrations in 2015, and the entire plug-in passenger car market achieved a market share of 1.17%. All-electric car registrations in 2015 continued to be led by the Renault Zoe (10,406), the electric utility van segment was led by the Kangoo Z.E. (2,836), and the plug-in hybrid segment was led by the Volkswagen Golf GTE (1,687). A total of 33,774 light-duty plug-in electric vehicles were registered in France in 2016, making the country the third largest in Europe in 2016 after Norway and the UK. France was the top selling European market in the light-duty all-electric segment with 27,307 units registered, up 23% from 2015. During the first nine months of 2016 registrations consisted of 16,091 all-electric cars, 3,991 electric vans, and 4,858 plug-in hybrid cars. The Renault Zoe continued as the top selling plug-in electric car with 8,163 units. The plug-in passenger car market achieved a market share of 1.57% of new car sales during the first nine months of 2016.

As of September 2016, the Renault Zoe is the all-time best-selling plug-in electric vehicle in the French market with 30,098 units registered since 2012. Ranking second is the Kangoo Z.E. utility van with 15,032 units registered since 2010. As of September 2016, the all-time top selling plug-in hybrid is the Volkswagen Golf GTE with about 2,500 units, followed by the Mitsubishi Outlander P-HEV with almost 2,000 registered.

United Kingdom

Since 2010, a total of 91,627 light-duty plug-in electric vehicles have been registered in the UK up until December 2016, including about 4,000 plug-in commercial vans. Since the launch of the Plug-In Car Grant in January 2011, a total of 85,581 eligible cars have been registered through January 2017, and, as of December 2016, the number of claims made through the Plug-in Van Grant scheme totaled 2,938 units since the launch of the scheme in 2012. Before the introduction of series production plug-in vehicles, a total of 1,096 all-electric vehicles were registered in the UK between 2006 and December 2010. Before 2011, the G-Wiz, a heavy quadricycle, listed as the top-selling EV for several years. As of December 2016, the UK had the fourth largest European stock of light-duty plug-in vehicles, and with 36,907 plug-in passenger cars registered in 2016, ranked as the second best selling European market that year after Norway.

The British market experienced a rapid growth of plug-in car sales during 2014, driven by the introduction of new models such as the BMW i3, Tesla Model S, Mitsubishi Outlander P-HEV, and Renault Zoe. Plug-in electric car registrations in the UK quadruple to 14,518 units in 2014. In November 2014 the passenger plug-in segment's market share passed 1% of monthly new car sales for the first time in the UK. The surge in demand for plug-in cars continued during 2015. Plug-in electric car registrations in the UK totaled 28,188 units in 2015. The plug-in electric car segment raised its market share of new car sales in 2015 to almost 1.1%, up from 0.59% in 2014. The plug-in segment reached a record market share of 1.7% of new car sales in the UK, the highest ever. The top selling models in 2015 were the Outlander P-HEV with 11,681 units, followed by the Leaf (5,236), and the BMW i3 (2,213).

Plug-in car sales in March 2016 achieved the best monthly plug-in sales volume on record ever, with 7,144 grant eligible cars registered. Registrations during the first six months of 2016 recorded the highest-volume half-year ever for plug-in electric car registrations. During the first three quarters of 2016 a total of 29,185 plug-in electric vehicles were registered, of which, 28,035 cars were eligible for the Plug-in Car Grant. Registrations consisted of 8,107 all-electric cars, up 16.6% year-on-year, and 21,078 plug-in hybrids, up 46.3% year-on-year. During this period, sales of plug-in hybrids oversold pure electric cars, with the latter more than doubling sales of battery electric models. During the first nine months of 2016 the plug-in car segment's market share reached 1.36% of new car sales. While overall new car registrations year-to-date increased 2.6% from the same period in 2015, total plug-in car registrations during the first nine months of 2016 increased 36.6% from a year earlier. The Outlander P-HEV continued to lead sales of the plug-in electric segment in 2016 with 9,486 units delivered. The Leaf remained as the top selling all-electric car with 4,463 units registered.

By mid-October 2016, sales of the Outlander P-HEV passed the 25,000 unit mark, accounting for about 50% of all plug-in hybrid sold in the UK since 2010. As of December 2016, the Outlander plug-in hybrid continues to rank as the all-time top selling plug-in car in the UK with 26,600 units sold. Cumulative sales of the Nissan Leaf, the second all-time best selling plug-in car and the top selling all-electric car ever, passed the 15,000 unit mark in September 2016, and also accounts for about 50% of total sales in the all-electric passenger car segment since 2010.

Germany

As of December 2016, a total of 74,754 plug-in electric cars have been registered in Germany since 2010. The country is the largest passenger car market in Europe, however ranks as the fifth largest plug-in market in Europe as of December 2016. About 80% of the plug-in cars registered in the country through September 2016 were registered since January 2014. The official German definition of electric vehicles changed at the beginning of 2013, before that, official statistics only registered all-electric vehicles because plug-in hybrids were accounted together with conventional hybrids. As a result, the registrations figures for 2012 and older do not account for total new plug-in electric car registrations.

The plug-in hybrid segment in the German market in 2014 experienced an explosive growth of 226.9% year-over-year, and the overall plug-in segment increased 75.5% from a year earlier. Registrations of plug-in electric cars totaled 13,049 units in 2014. The plug-in segment achieved a market share of 0.4% of new car sales that year. The BMW i3 ended 2014 as the top selling plug-in electric car with 2,233 units registered. The surge in sales continued in 2015, the plug-in hybrid segment grew 125.1% year-over-year, while the all-electric segment climbed 91.2% from the previous year. In 2015, plug-in electric car registrations totaled 23,464 units, and the plug-in segment achieved a market share of 0.7% of new car sales. The top selling models in 2015 were the Kia Soul EV (3,839), followed by the BMW i3 (2,271), and the Mitsubishi Outlander P-HEV (2,128).

During the first three quarters of 2016, sales of plug-in hybrids surpassed sales of all-electric cars for the first time in the country. A total of 17,074 units were registered, consisting of 7,678 all-electric cars and 9,396 plug-in hybrids. The plug-in segment achieved a market share of 0.7% of new car sales. The top selling models during the first eight months of 2016 were the Renault Zoe (1,836), BMW i3 (1,237), Tesla Model S (978), Audi A3 e-tron (908), and Volkswagen Golf GTE (852). The introduction of the federal government purchase e-bonus, in effect since May 2016, did not produce immediate effect on plug-in car sales until September 2016, when registrations peaked to 3,061 units, consisting of 1,641 all-electric cars, up 76.6% year-on-year, and 1,420 plug-in hybrids, up 36.8% year-on-year. Combined registrations of both type of plug-in accounted for 1.1% of new car registrations, allowing the German plug-in market share to pass the 1% mark for the first time during 2016.

Sweden

As of December 2016, a total of 30,525 plug-in electric vehicles have been registered in Sweden since 2011, consisting of 21,181 plug-in hybrids, 7,985 all-electric cars and 1,359 all-electric utility vans. The Swedish plug-in electric market is dominated by plug-in hybrids, representing 69.4% of the Swedish light-duty plug-in electric vehicle registrations through December 2016. Sweden has ranked among the world's top ten best-selling plug-in markets for two years running, 2015 and 2016, listed in both years as the ninth largest country market. As of December 2016, the Swedish stock of plug-in cars and vans is the sixth largest in Europe.

In September 2011 the Swedish government approved a 200 million kr program, effective starting in January 2012, to provide a subsidy of 40,000 kr per car for the purchase of 5,000 electric cars and other "super green cars" with ultra-low carbon emissions, defined as those with emissions below 50 grams of carbon dioxide (CO₂) per km. After renewing appropriations for the super green car rebate several times, from 2016, only zero emissions cars are entitled to receive the full premium, while other super green cars, plug-in hybrids, receive half premium.

Registrations of super clean cars increased five-fold in July 2014 driven by the end of the quota of 5,000 new cars eligible for the super clean car subsidy. A total of 4,656 plug-in super clean passenger cars were registered in 2014, representing a 1.53% market share of new passenger cars registered in the country in 2014. Registrations of super clean cars were up 201% from 2013, while registrations of new passenger cars increased 12.7%. The top selling plug-in electric cars in 2014 were the Mitsubishi Outlander P-HEV with 2,289 units and the Volvo V60 PHEV with 745. A total of 8,908 light-duty plug-in electric vehicles were registered in 2015, up 80% from 2014. The registered stock consisted of 5,625 plug-in hybrids, 2,962 all-electric cars and 321 all-electric utility vans. The plug-in segment had a market share of 2.49% of new car sales in 2015. The Mitsubishi Outlander P-HEV was the top selling plug-in car for a second year running with 3,302 units, followed by the Tesla Model S with 996 units.

Registrations totaled 13,454 light-duty plug-in electric vehicles in 2016, consisting 10,257 plug-in hybrids, up 16.7% from 2015, 2,924 all-electric cars, up 4.8% year-on-year, and 273 all-electric vans down 15.9% from 2015. Super clean car registrations totaled 12,995 units, up 51.4% from 2015. The plug-in electric car segment achieved a market share of 3.5% of all new cars registered in 2016, the world's third largest after Norway and the Netherlands. In 2016 the Volkswagen Passat GTE listed as the top selling plug-in car with 3,804 units, followed by the Outlander P-HEV (1,819), Volvo V60 PHEV (1,239), Volvo XC90 T8 (983), Tesla Model S (838), and Nissan Leaf (836). The top selling all-electric utility van was the Renault Kangoo Z.E. with 171 units registered. As of December 2016, the all-time top selling plug-in electric cars are the Mitsubishi Outlander P-HEV with 7,506 units registered, followed by the Volkswagen Passat GTE (4,075), Volvo V60 PHEV (3,239), Nissan Leaf (2,561) and Tesla Model S (2,099). The Renault Kangoo Z.E. remained as the all-time the leader in the plug-in commercial utility segment with 1,024 units.

Canada

Cumulative sales of plug-in electric cars in Canada totaled more than 27,000 new units through December 2016. The Chevrolet Volt, released in 2011, is the all-time top selling plug-in electric vehicle in the country, with cumulative sales of 6,707 units through June 2016, representing over 30% of all plug-in cars sold in the country. Ranking second is the Tesla Model S with 4,396 units sold, followed by the Nissan Leaf with 3,815 units delivered, both as of June 2016.

Quebec is the regional market leader in Canada, with about 11,000 plug-in electric cars registered as of September 2016, of which, 55% are plug-in hybrids. Registrations in the province totaled 3,100 units in 2015, representing a market share of 0.7% of new car sales, and 45% of total Canadian plug-in electric car sales that year. In October 2016, the National Assembly of Quebec passed a new zero emission vehicle legislation that obliges major automakers selling cars in the Canadian province to offer their customers a minimum number of plug-in hybrid and all-electric models. Under the new law, 3.5% of the total number of autos sold by carmakers in Quebec have to be zero emissions vehicles starting in 2018, rising to 15.5% in 2020. A tradable credit system was created for those carmakers not fulfilling their quotas to avoid financial penalties. Quebec aims to have 100,000 zero emission vehicles on the road by 2020.

As of December 2015, there were 18,451 highway legal plug-in electric cars registered in Canada, consisting of 10,034 (54%) all-electric cars and 8,417 (46%) plug-in hybrids. Until 2014 Canadian sales were evenly split between all-electric cars (50.8)% and plug-in hybrids (49.2%). The Model S was the top selling plug-in electric car in Canada in 2015 with 2,010 units sold. The Chevrolet Volt, with 2,544 units sold, ranked as the top selling plug-in car during the first three quarters of 2016.

All-electric cars and vans

The world's top selling highway-capable all-electric car ever is the Nissan Leaf with global sales of more than 250,000 units through December 2016. The United States is the world's largest Leaf market with 103,597 units sold through December 2016. The other two top markets are Japan with 74,494 units delivered up until December 2016, and Europe with about 66,000 units through November 2016. The European market is led by Norway with 19,407 new units registered up until December 2016, and the UK with 15,000 September 2016.

Ranking second is the all-electric Tesla Model S, with global deliveries of more than 158,000 cars as of December 2016, with the United States as its leading market with about 92,300 units delivered through December 2016. Norway is the Model S largest overseas market, with 11,763 new units registered through September 2016, followed by China with 5,524 units registered through September 2015. The Tesla Model S has been the world's top selling plug-in car for two years in a row, 2015 and 2016. The world's top selling all-electric light utility vehicle is the Renault Kangoo Z.E., with global sales of 25,205 electric vans delivered through December 2016.

The following table presents global sales of the top selling highway-capable electric cars and light utility vehicles produced between 2008 and December 2016. The table includes all-electric passenger cars and utility vans with cumulative sales of about or over 20,000 units since the introduction of the first modern production all-electric car in 2008, the Tesla Roadster.

Plug-in hybrids

As of December 2016, the Volt/Ampera family is the world's best selling plug-in hybrid and the third best selling plug-in electric car after the Nissan Leaf and the Model S. Chevrolet Volt and Opel/Vauxhaul Ampera combined sales totaled about 134,500 units worldwide through December 2016, including just over 10,000 Opel/Vauxhall Amperas sold in Europe through June 2016. Volt sales are led by the United States with 113,489 units delivered, followed by Canada with 8,884 units, both through December 2016. The Netherlands is the leading European market with about 6,000 Amperas and Volts registered as of December 2015.

Ranking next is the Mitsubishi Outlander P-HEV with around 119,500 units sold worldwide as of December 2016. As of March 2016, Europe ranked as the Outlander P-HEV leading market with 65,529 units sold, followed by Japan with 33,730 units. European sales are led by the UK with 26,600 units sold through December 2016, followed by the Netherlands with 25,984 units registered by the end of 2016.

Ranking third is the first generation Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid with 75,400 units sold worldwide through April 2016. The United States is the market leader with 44,767 units delivered through December 2016. Japan ranks next with about 22,100 units, followed by Europe with 10,500 units, both, through April 2016. The leading European market is the Netherlands with 4,134 units registered as of 30 November 2015. Production of the first generation Prius Plug-in ended in June 2015. The second generation Prius plug-in hybrid, the Toyota Prius Prime, was released in the United States in November 2016.

The following table presents cumulative sales through December 2016 of those plug-in hybrid models that have sold about 10,000 units since the introduction of the first modern production plug-in hybrid vehicle in December 2008, the BYD F3DM.

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