One of the big criticisms leveled against electric vehicles is that they simply cost too much. New research from the European Automobile Manufacturer’s Association (ACEA) appears to support that assessment by pointing out that adoption of electrically chargeable vehicles (ECV) is highest in countries whose residents are more affluent.
The ACEA, a lobby group representing automakers, reports that although ECVs (a group composed of fully electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, but not FCEVs) made up 21.6 percent of new vehicle sales on the continent in 2022, their market shares swung considerably by country.
Top 5 Countries With Slowest Electrically Chargeable Vehicle (ECV) Adoption
In countries like Greece, Italy, Poland, and Croatia, where the annual net income (that is the amount of money people have after costs and taxes) is around €13,000 ($14,289 USD at current exchange rates), ECVs make up just nine percent of the new vehicle market.
In Bulgaria and Slovakia, where the average annual net incomes are €7,272 and €10,985, respectively, ECVs amounted to just 4.0 and 3.7 percent of new car sales. They were two of the three European countries with the lowest adoption of electrified vehicles.
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Meanwhile, in Northern European nations, where annual net income tends to exceed €32,000 ($35,173 USD), ECVs make up more than 30 percent of new vehicle sales. In Sweden, for instance, 56.1 percent of all new cars sold last year were ECVs, and the country’s average net income is €35,486 ($39,005 USD).
The correlation between ECV adoption and wealth is not a huge surprise, though it is a noteworthy one. The high costs of batteries, and the expensive industrial upheaval that is being caused by the transition to electric vehicles means that they are more expensive to manufacture than internal combustion vehicles, and therefore carry higher MSRPs. As technology advances, the cost of producing EVs is likely to lower. A burgeoning price war may also be welcomed by consumers around the world.
Top 5 Countries By ECV Adoption
