Europe Advances EV Readiness Despite Challenges

The global auto industry is undergoing a major transformation, with the rise of electric vehicles (EVs) leading the way. According to the International Energy Agency's (IEA) Global Electric Vehicle Outlook, over 10 million EVs were sold worldwide in 2022, and this number is expected to grow by 35% in 2023. This surge in demand means that EVs now account for 14% of global car sales, up from just 4% in 2020, and this is expected to increase further to 18% this year.

Published

April 2023

Industry

Electric Vehicles

Charging infrastructure remains the biggest bottleneck holding back the EV transition, with the lowest scores in the Readiness Index. While some countries, including France, Denmark, Slovakia and Spain, made notable improvements in 2022, there is still much work to be done to increase the number of public charging points and make EV charging more convenient for users.

Despite a less positive result for TCO in 2023, with only Hungary and the Czech Republic making significant improvements to their previous scores, EVs are still typically more affordable than comparable combustion vehicles. This, along with other EV benefits, such as impressive new technology developments and sustainability, means that companies and fleet managers should be getting behind the EV wheel sooner rather than later.

Denmark was the biggest climber in the index in 2023, making an eight-point jump in its EV preparedness versus 2022, taking it from #11 to #7. This success was driven by improvements to both its infrastructure and market maturity.

The EV Readiness Index provides detailed data across key metrics related to markets, infrastructure, and TCO that can help fleet managers make more informed decisions about fleet electrification. Companies that don’t embrace EV mobility are less likely to be able to keep up with growing regulatory and societal pressure to cut their emissions. In turn, that puts business continuity at risk, if, for example, clients turn to other suppliers or vehicles are barred from low-emission zones.