Third from the Bottom
According to the International Energy Agency, a total of 1,256,900 electric vehicles were sold across the world until last year, more than 100 times the global sales volume recorded in 2010.
The global EV market began to grow at a rapid pace in 2010, led by the United States. Then, EV sales in Europe, India, Japan and China began to grow one after another and the cumulative sales volume has increased by an annual average of 171.5% since 2010.
In the United States, 404,090 EVs were sold until last year. In China, 207,380 EVs were sold in 2015 alone with the cumulative sales volume reaching 312,290. Japan recorded a cumulative volume of 126,400 and was followed by the Netherlands and Norway, each of which showed an increment of about 40,000 units last year.
In the meantime, South Korea posted a cumulative volume of only 4,330, or 0.3% of the global EV sales volume. On the top 16 list, South Korea ranked third from the bottom, followed by Portugal and South Africa. For reference, LG Chem and Samsung SDI are currently enjoying a 17% market share together in the global EV battery market.
In this regard, the South Korean government recently announced a plan to increase the ratio of newly sold green cars to newly sold vehicles to at least 30% by 2020. If the goal is achieved, the annual EV sales volume in the domestic market will reach approximately 550,000 units in 2020.