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https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/27432/critical-issues-in-transportation-for-2024-and-beyond

Update on electric vehicle uptake in European cities

In this paper the authors present up-to-date information on the European electric vehicle (EV) market in 2020. The data include sales at the European and national levels, and new registrations at local levels. The EV market in Europe experienced unforeseen growth in 2020, with a 143% increase in sales of electric passenger automobiles since 2019, making Europe the world’s largest EV market, despite major disruption due to COVID-19. The EV growth in Europe was mostly impelled by manufacturers’ compliance with the more stringent EU carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions standards implemented in January 2020. National and local policies have resulted in significant variations across the European market, but local successes in EV uptake provide lessons for the design, adoption, and sustaining of future local policies and programs. City policies and EV adoption are linked, and successful local EV markets have adopted a range of policies to overcome the barriers of EV availability, cost, convenience of use, and public awareness. The authors’ research yields several conclusions: 1) While European cities experienced strong EV market growth in 2020, distribution of EVs remains uneven. Norway, the Netherlands, and Sweden continue to have the greatest uptake. Although regions of southern and eastern Europe had comparatively low new EV sales, they experienced steep increases from 2019 levels. 2) Charging infrastructure is expanding, but trends and approaches across markets vary widely. In the largest European markets, public EV charging has expanded with sales of new EVs, but different patterns of public charging infrastructure are emerging. These differences indicate that there is no single EV-to-charger ratio that can serve as a benchmark across different countries, although the number of EVs supported by public charging rises as markets mature. Cities are subsidizing the expansion of charging facilities and cooperating with electric utility companies and charging station operators. 3) Policies at the EU, national, and local level affect EV uptake. Across Europe, the EV market in 2020 has been impelled mostly by EU CO₂ emission standards for new passenger automobiles, along with financial incentives from national governments. Leading European cities have implemented innovative policies to accelerate uptake by improving convenience of EV use, affordability, and public awareness. Some of Europe’s largest EV markets, in addition to implementing zero emission zones (ZEZs), offer parking benefits, access to priority lanes, and discounts on tolls and congestion pricing. 4) City strategies are aiming toward 100% market penetration of zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs). A growing number of local governments have plans to regulate or restrict access for internal combustion (IC) vehicles in urban areas, often in advance of national targets for ending IC vehicle sales or registrations. London has implemented near-ZEZs in three areas, while Amsterdam and Paris plan for citywide ZEZs by 2030. Some cities also exert their authority over public and private fleets to spur EV uptake; Paris has goals of a 90% electric urban fleet in 2021 and 100% zero-emission public transportation by 2025.

Language

  • English

Media Info

  • Media Type: Digital/other
  • Edition: Working Paper
  • Features: Figures; Maps; References;
  • Pagination: 18p
  • Serial:
    • Working Paper
    • Issue Number: 2021-37
    • Publisher: International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT)

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 01787718
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Report/Paper Numbers: 2021-37
  • Files: TRIS
  • Created Date: Nov 11 2021 3:21PM