EVs on the rise

Electric vehicles are sweeping the market.

Reuters has reported that global sales of fully electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) rose by a quarter last year to over 17 million cars as China continued to grow and Europe stabilized.

Statista, meanwhile, predicts that this year, revenues in the EV market is projected to reach a staggering $784.2 billion worldwide. It expects the market to demonstrate a steady annual growth rate from 2025 to 2029 of 6.01 percent, leading to a projected market volume of $990.4 billion by 2029.

According to Statista, one of the reasons for the growing popularity of EVs is the increasing concern for the environment and the need to reduce carbon emissions, as customers are becoming more conscious of their ecological footprint and are opting for greener transportation options.

BYD led the global EV market in 2024, with combined deliveries of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and PHEVs reaching over 3.84 million units, up by 33.6 percent year on year. It accounted for 22.2 percent of all EV sales worldwide. US brand Tesla came in second, with half of the deliveries and market share of Chinese carmaker BYD, but Tesla only produced all-electric cars. It sold 1.78 million units in 2024, with a market share of 10.3 percent.

In third place was Wuling followed by BMW, Li Auto, Geely, Volkswagen, Mercedes Benz and another Chinese brand Aion at 10th place.

According to Virta Global, the global EV market share has taken a tremendous leap forward in the past decade and that it expects the trend to only accelerate in the coming years. “In a number of countries, electric vehicles are on the path to become a mass-market product,” it said.

China, Europe and the United States are the largest markets for electric vehicles and together account for 95 percent of all sales in 2023.

The report showed that in 2023, EV use saved more than 220 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions globally, compared to 80 million in 2022. It is predicted that by 2035, using EVs could avoid 2 Gt of carbon dioxide equivalent of GHG emissions.

The private sector and car manufacturer have responded positively to the ongoing changes in the market. Toyota for one is targeting the production of 1.5 million battery electric vehicles (BEV) and the introduction of 10 new models by 2026 for the global market. Mazda is aiming for at least 25 percent of its global sales to be BEV in 2030, while Honda is launching 30 EV models globally by 2030.

Nissan for its part has a global target of 44 percent EV sales by 2026 and 55 percent by 2030, while the BMW Group sees EV sales share reaching 30 percent this year and 50 percent by 2030. Mitsubishi, meanwhile, projects 100-percent EV sales by 2035 globally and Porsche, 80 percent of its sales to be electric by 2030.

Meanwhile, in its Global EV Outlook, the International Energy Agency emphasized that an equitable and inclusive transition to electric mobility globally hinges on the successful launch of affordable EVs.

How is the Philippines doing in terms of EVs?

According to the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers in the Philippines (CAMPI), sales of EVs in the country could increase by seven percent this year, hitting an annual purchase volume of 20,000 units for the first time. It is expected that four percent of the estimated 500,000 vehicle purchases this year will be EVs.

With overall purchases reaching 467,252 units in 2025, this meant that EV sales had reached 18,690 units last year. EV sales include hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), PHEVs and BEVs.

CAMPI earlier revealed that EVs sales had been increasing annually in the last several years. HEVs were the most sold in the local market, followed by BEVs, and PHEVs.

BYD leads the local EV market with a 70-percent market share in 2024.

Global Fleet meanwhile cited reports suggesting that by 2030, the Philippines could have 6.6 million EVs on the road, crucial for achieving the target of 50 percent EV penetration by 2040.

The Philippines now has 912 EV charging stations that are publicly accessible as of end of March, according to the Department of Energy, although most are located in the National Capital Region. The DOE aims to deploy 7,300 EV charging stations all over the country by 2028.

There are even plans to require gas stations to have EV charging points this year as part of efforts to boost EV adoption in the country.

President Marcos has said that he wants half of the cars on the road to be electric by 2040, with the government already rolling out a number of incentives to increase EV adoption, such as tariff cuts for EVs and exemptions from number coding traffic rules.

The country’s Comprehensive Roadmap for the Electric Vehicle Industry (CREVI) targets to produce 311,700 EVs in the short-term and 850,000 in the long-term.

We also have Republic Act 11697 or the Electric Vehicle Industry Development Act (EVIDA), which aims to promote the development and adoption of EVs in the country by mandating an increase in the share of EVs in corporate and government fleets.

Under CREVI, the business-as-usual scenario target is a 10-percent EV fleet share by 2040, and a clean energy scenario target of at least 50 percent.

The Electric Vehicle Association of the Philippines is optimistic that the number of EVs will continue to increase by at least 20 percent as more consumers are now considering owning an EV to address the issue of gas price increases.

For EV sales to grow in the country, it is also important for authorities to address reports about EV fires and explosions, which may result from overcharging, physical damage and battery effects. This has deterred many consumers from considering purchasing EVs.

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