Sales of electric vehicles (EV) jumped in the first half of 2021 despite components shortage, pandemic-forced production interruptions, and longer-term weakness in the overall market, according to research firm Canalys. Nearly 2.6 million EVs were sold in the first 6 months of 2021, a 160% jump compared to the same time last year.
(Subscribe to our Today's Cache newsletter for a quick snapshot of top 5 tech stories. Click here to subscribe for free.)
Tesla leads the worldwide EV market with a 15% share, followed by Volkswagen, SGMW, BMW Group and Stellantis. In terms of geography, China is the largest market with 1.1 million EV sales, followed by Europe which sold 1 million EVs. Norway remains the global leader for EV adoption at over 80% of new car sales. The U.S. EV market continued to lag with only 250,000 EVs sold in the first half of 2021.
Also Read | Top U.S. utilities collaborate to build electric vehicle charging stations
EV sales were boosted by strong demand in the two leading markets of Mainland China and Europe together accounting for 87% of all EV sales worldwide. The growth of EV sales exceeded that of the total global car market which rose 26% from the first half in the previous year and was still below the pre-pandemic levels.
