Thursday 29 October 2020
EVs are not a passing phenomenon – the low carbon cars are here to stay
That's the confident prediction from Christel Galbrun-Noel, Segment President of Mobility at Schneider Electric, who spoke to future Net Zero's Jonny Bairstow about what she said was proving a "very interesting moment for EVs" on the global stage.
She noted that while the overall car market is dropping due to the pandemic, proportionately, the total EV share is increasing significantly.
She emphasised this growth was particularly apparent in Europe, pointing out that the first half of the year alone saw EV sales rise from around 2% of the continent's market share to more than 10%.
Indeed, for the first time, Europe's absolute figures have now surpassed China's.
Ms Galbrun-Noel said: "Even though again we are in a market that is difficult due to the economic crisis, the EV movement has definitely started to increase - this movement is not a one-year phenomenon. It will last, it will continue to increase for many reasons."
She added that EV popularity was being fuelled by an ongoing fall in prices, driven by the continued affordability of batteries and battery performance due to ongoing chemistry and density improvements and an aggressive battery cost roadmap.
She also suggested that adoption was accelerated by the spreading awareness that the experience of owning an EV is "an unprecedented one", with a 95% satisfaction rate and many EV drivers stating that they would not go back to an internal combustion engine vehicle.
Noting that the movement is also being pushed by local, regional and national policies to phase out traditional polluting cars, she said: "This is, for me, giving good sight of an EV trend that will continue to accelerate and that has really started a big transition".
