Electric car use by country

This article describes the use, market penetration and market share of new car sales of electric cars by country. It also provides historical background, fleet size, existing government incentives, and deployment details by country. The article encompasses both low-speed neighborhood electric vehicle (NEVs) and highway-capable all-electric cars (BEVs). Several countries publish their statistics and have purchase incentives schemes in place for the more general category of plug-in electric cars (PEVs), which includes also plug-in hybrids (PHEVs). Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) are not included because they can not be plugged and recharged from an off-vehicle electric energy source.

By mid-September 2015, over one million highway legal plug-in electric passenger cars and light utility vehicles have been sold worldwide, representing less than 0.1% of the world's stock of motor vehicles, estimated at 1.2 billion vehicles by mid 2014.^[3][4][5] Of these, over 520,000 were sold in 2015, representing about 42% of the cumulative total since the launch of the Tesla Roadster in 2008.^[6]

As of December 2015, the United States is the leading country market with a stock of about 410,000 highway legal light-duty plug-in electric vehicles delivered since 2008. China ranks second with over 258,000 units sold since 2011, followed by Japan with almost 130,000 plug-in units sold since 2009.^[6][7] As of December 2015, over 419,000 plug-in electric passenger cars have been registered in Europe.^[8][9] As of December 2015, sales in the European light-duty plug-in electric segment, which includes utility vans, are led by the Netherlands with 88,991 units registered, followed by Norway with 77,897 units, France with 74,294 units registered, and the UK with 53,524 units.^[6]

Norway is the country with the highest market penetration per capita in the world, also the country with the largest plug-in electric segment market share of new car sales, and in March 2014 Norway became the first country where over 1 in every 100 passenger cars on the roads is a plug-in electric vehicle.^[10][11][12] Estonia, which has the second largest EV market penetration per capita after Norway,^[13] is the first country that completed the deployment of an EV charging network with nationwide coverage, with fast chargers available along highways at a minimum distance of between 40 to 60 km (25 to 37 mi).^[14][15]

Global outlook

By mid-September 2015, over one million highway legal plug-in electric passenger cars and light utility vehicles have been sold worldwide, representing less than 0.1% of the world's stock of motor vehicles, estimated at 1.2 billion vehicles by mid 2014.^[3][4][5] When sales are broken down by type of powertrain, all-electric cars have oversold plug-in hybrids, with the pure electrics capturing 62% of global sales by mid-September 2015.^[3] Sales of plug-in electric vehicles achieved the one million milestone almost twice as fast as hybrid electric vehicles (HEV). While it took four years and 10 months to reach one-million PEV sales, it took more than around nine years and a few months for HEVs to reach its first million sales.^[3][4]

Between 2007 and 2010, only 11,768 plug-in electric vehicles were sold worldwide.^[16] By comparison, during the Golden Age of the electric car at the beginning of the 20th century, the EV stock peaked at approximately 30,000 vehicles.^[17] After the introduction of the Nissan Leaf and the Chevrolet Volt in December 2010, the first mass-production plug-in cars by major carmakers, PEV sales jumped in 2011 to 45,000 units,^[18] increased to 119,300 in 2012,^[19][20] and reached 206,000 plug-in electric cars and utility vans in 2013.^[18] Sales rose to over 300,000 units in 2014, up about 50% from 2013.^[18][21] Global sales of highway capable light-duty plug-in electric vehicles reached about 520,000 units in 2015, up about 70% from 2014, and cumulative global sales reached 1,235,000 plug-in cars and utility vans.^[6] JATO Dynamics, based on LMC Automotive’s forecasts, estimates the global market is expected to reach sales in excess of 700,000 units in 2016 due to strong growth in China, Europe and the United States.^[22]

During 2014 six countries achieved plug-in electric car sales with a market share higher than 1% of total new car sales, Norway (13.84%), the Netherlands (3.87%), Iceland (2.71%), Estonia (1.57%), Sweden (1.53%), and Japan (1.06%).^[21][23][24] The following table presents the top ranking countries according to their PEV market share of total new car sales in 2014. The table also shows the corresponding market share for 2013 for the overall segment, and for each of the following segments: all-electric (BEV), and plug-in hybrid (PHEV).

Top 10 countries by PEV market share of total new car sales in 2014 and 2013				Top 10 countries by plug-in electric-drive segment in 2013(1)
Rank	Country	PEV market share (%)		Rank	Country	BEV market share (%) 2013[25]	Rank	Country	PHEV market share (%) 2013[25]
		2014[21]	2013[25]
1	Norway	13.84 %	6.10 %	1	Norway	5.75 %	1	Netherlands	4.72 %
2	Netherlands	3.87 %	5.55 %	2	Netherlands	0.83 %	2	Sweden	0.41 %
3	Iceland[23]	2.71 %	0.94 %	3	France	0.79 %	3	Japan	0.40 %
4	Estonia[23]	1.57 %	0.73 %	4	Estonia	0.73 %	4	Norway	0.34 %
5	Sweden[24]	1.53 %	0.71 %	5	Iceland	0.69 %	5	US	0.31 %
6	Japan	1.06 %	0.91 %	6	Japan	0.51 %	6	Iceland	0.25 %
7	Denmark[26]	0.88 %	0.29 %	7	Switzerland	0.39 %	7	Finland	0.13 %
8	Switzerland[27]	0.75 %	0.44 %	8	Sweden	0.30 %	8	UK	0.05 %
9	US	0.72 %	0.60 %	9	Denmark	0.28 %	9	France	0.05 %
10	France(2)	0.70 %	0.83 %	10	US	0.28 %	10	Switzerland	0.05 %
Note: (1) Market share of highway-capable plug-in electric-drive vehicles in the corresponding segment as percentage of total new car sales in the country in 2013. (2) The French market share corresponds to all-electric passenger cars and utility vans only. In France PHEVs are accounted together with regular hybrids (HEVs).[28]

Several countries experienced a rapid growth of their plug-in car market during 2014. Total sales of new energy vehicles in China, including heavy-duty vehicles, were up 320% year-on-year, and the plug-in hybrids segment experience a faster growth, up 880% from 2013.^[29] The British market experienced a surge of plug-in car sales during 2014. Plug-in electric car registrations in the UK quadruple from 3,586 in 2013 to 14,498 units in 2014. Registrations in the plug-in hybrid segment were up 628% from 2013.^[30][31][32] Registrations of plug-in super clean cars in Sweden in 2014 were up 202.1% from 2013.^[24] Registrations of light-duty plug-in electric vehicles in Norway, including used imports, were up 119.9% from a year earlier, and sales of plug-in hybrids were up 411.6% from 2013.^[33] The plug-in hybrid segment in the German market in 2014 experienced a growth of 226.9% year-over-year, and the overall plug-in segment increased 75.5% from a year earlier.^[34][35]

As of December 2014, the United States has the largest fleet of highway legal plug-in electric vehicles in the world, with over 295,000 units delivered since the market launch of the Tesla Roadster in 2008, including passenger cars, utility vans and commercial trucks.^[36] U.S. sales are led by California with 129,470 plug-in electric vehicles registered between December 2010 and December 2014, representing about 45% of all plug-in cars sold in the U.S. since 2010. During 2014 California's PEV market share reached 3.2% of total new car sales in the state, up from 2.5% in 2013.^[37] As of December 2014, California had more plug-in electric vehicles than any other country, and its market share is surpassed only by Norway and the Netherlands.^[21][37][38]

American sales represented 41% of global PEV sales as of December 2014.^[21] Japan ranks second with about 108,000 units sold since 2009, with 15% of global sales, followed by China with more than 83,000 plug-in passenger cars sold since 2008 (12%).^[7] Since 2010, over 228,000 light-duty plug-in electric vehicles have been registered in the European market as of December 2014, representing 32% of global sales.^{[39][40][41][42][43][44]} As of December 2014, European sales are led by the Netherlands with 45,020 light-duty plug-in vehicles registered (6.3%),^[45] followed by France with 43,605 all-electric cars and light utility vans sold since 2010 (6.1%), Norway with over 43,442 plug-in electric vehicles registered (6.8%).^[21] Other top selling countries are Germany with over 25,000 units registered (3.5%),^[34][46] the UK with over 24,500 units (3.4%),^[47] Canada with 10,658 plug-in cars sold since 2011 (1.5%),^[48] and Sweden with 8,076 (1.1%).^[49][50] In the heavy-duty segment, China is the world's leader as of December 2014, with about 36,500 all-electric buses out of a global stock of 46,000 electric buses.^[7]

Norway is the country with the highest market penetration per capita in the world, with four plug-in electric vehicles per 1000 inhabitants in 2013.^[10] In March 2014, Norway became the first country where over 1 in every 100 passenger cars on the roads is a plug-in electric.^[12][51] Norway also has the world's largest plug-in electric segment market share of total new car sales, 13.8% in 2014, up from 5.6% in 2013.^[11][21] Ranking second is the Netherlands, with a market share of 3.87% in 2014.^[21]

The following table presents plug-in electric vehicle stock and PEV market share of new car sales for 2014 and 2013 for the ten countries with the largest plug-in electric-drive fleets as of December 2014.

Light-duty plug-in electric vehicle stock and PEV market share of total new car sales in the top ten PEV selling countries as of December 2014
Country	PEV stock(1)		Growth 2013-14	PEV market share		Comments
	2014[21]	2013[10]		2014[21]	2013[10]
US	291,332	172,000	69.4%	0.72%	0.62%	Sales between 2008 and December 2014. Includes only plug-in electric passenger cars.
Japan	108,248[7]	74,124	46.0%	1.06%	0.85%	Sales since July 2009 through December 2014. Kei cars not included for market share estimate.[10] Includes plug-in electric cars and all-electric utility vans.
China	83,198[7]	28,619	190.7%	0.23%	0.08%	Passenger new energy vehicle sales between 2008 and 2014. In addition, China also has about 36,500 all-electric buses.[7]
Netherlands	45,020[45]	28,673	57.0%	3.87%	5.37%	Registrations between 2009 and December 2014. Includes plug-in cars and all-electric commercial vans.
France(2)	43,605	28,560	52.7%	0.70%	0.65%	Registrations between 2010 and December 2014. Includes only all-electric cars and 11,304 utility vans. Market share is 0.49% if only all-electric cars are considered.
Norway	43,442	20,486	113.3%	13.84%	5.60%	Registrations between 2003 and December 2014. Includes plug-in cars, all-electric vans, over 6,500 used imports, and over 1,500 heavy quadricycles.[52]
Germany	25,205[34][46]	12,156[46]	107.3%	0.43%	0.25%	Registrations between 2006 and December 2014 Includes only plug-in electric passenger cars.
UK	~24,500[47]	9,982[30][47]	145.4%	0.59%[30]	0.16%[30]	Registrations between 2006 and December 2014 Includes plug-in cars and all-electric commercial vans.
Canada	10,658[48]	5,596[48]	90.5%	0.27%[48]	0.18%[48]	Sales between 2011 and December 2014 Includes only plug-in electric passenger cars.
Sweden	8,076[50]	3,138[50]	157.4%	1.53%[24]	0.57%	Registrations between 2011 and December 2014 Includes plug-in cars and all-electric commercial vans.
Global Total (since 2003)	712,000	405,000[21]	75.8%	0.062%[5][21]	0.038%[5][53]
Note (1) Plug-in electric vehicle stock only includes cumulative sales or registrations of highway-capable light-duty vehicles except where noted. The only other segment with significant sales is electric buses, with a global stock of 46,000 units by the end of 2014.[7] (2) French registrations do not include plug-in hybrids. PHEVs in France are classified and accounted together with regular hybrids (HEVs).[28]

Australia

In 2008 Australia started producing its first commercial all-electric vehicle. Originally called the Blade Runner, its name was changed to Electron, and is already being exported to New Zealand with one purchased by the Environment Minister Dr. Nick Smith.^[54][55] The Electron is based on the Hyundai Getz chassis and has proven popular with government car pools.^[56]

In October 2008, Better Place announced plans to deploy charging network to power electric cars in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane in partnership with Australian power company AGL and finance group Macquarie Capital.^[57] The initial network deployment was planned to take place in Canberra in late 2011.^[58] As of December 2011, 12 public charge spots (power outlets, not battery swap stations) had been installed in Australia.^[59] The roll out of the Australian network was initially planned to begin 6 months to a year after the roll out of the network in Denmark.^[60] In December 2012, Renault announced that the launch of the Renault Fluence Z.E. was postponed indefinitely following delays with the roll out of Australia’s electric vehicle infrastructure. The electric car was scheduled to go on sale to the public from a number of dealers across the country in the fourth quarter of 2012. Better Place explained that delays in the deployments in Israel and Denmark are reflecting in the Australian roll out, which would take place between 12 to 18 months behind the other markets.^[61] Better place have since gone bust with the only sign they ever existed being a few lone silver posts standing in (mostly university) car parks. Chargepoint is now the only major operator of a charging network still based and active in Australia.^[62]

Beginning in mid-2009, twelve-month field trial was conducted with the Mitsubishi i-MiEV with potential electric vehicle customers, such as local, state and federal government bodies, and major fleet operators.^[63] Leasing for fleet customers began in Australia in August 2010.^[64][65] As of May 2011, a total of 110 i-MiEVs had been leased to government and corporate fleets, while retail sales to the public began in August 2011. As of September 2013, the Australian government does not offer any form of incentive or rebate scheme for the purchase of fuel-efficient vehicles by its citizens.^[66] As of December 2012, 125 i-MiEVs had been sold in the country, 30 of which were sold by December 2011.^[67]

A two-year fleet trial of 10 converted Ford Focus Electric cars, that also included 14 i-MiEVs and 3 Toyota Prius PHEVs,^[68] commenced in Western Australia in 2010.^[69] Each converted car was equipped with a 23 kWh battery pack, a 27 kW DC motor and a 1000A motor controller. These cars were then used in the study as regular fleet vehicles to find their usability for everyday driving.^[70] In July 2011, Nissan Australia provided 16 Nissan Leaf vehicles, to be used by both personal and commercial users, for an electric vehicle trial in Victoria.^[71] A total of 19 Leafs were registered in 2011, while sales of the Nissan Leaf in Australia began in June 2012—77 units were sold during 2012.^[67][72] The Holden Volt, a plug-in hybrid model, was released onto the Australian market by late 2012 and a total of 80 units were delivered during that year.^[67]

A total of 258 plug-in electric cars were sold during 2012, with the i-MiEV as the top selling model, with 95 units sold.^[73] Sales during 2013 totaled 304 units, up 20% from 2012. The Nissan Leaf was the top selling plug-in car with 188 units followed by the Holden Volt with 101 units. The EV market share in 2013 was 0.036% of total new car sales in the country.^[74][75] As of September 2013, the largest public charging networks exist in the capital cities of Perth and Melbourne, with around 30 stations (7 kW AC) established in both cities—smaller networks exist in other capital cities. An Australian standard for charging connectors does not exist as of September 2013.^[76]

Since 2014 Mitsubishi is no longer importing the i-MiEV after slow sales due to the high price and due to competition from the more successful Outlander PHEV for battery components. Sales during the first quarter of 2014 totaled 42 units, representing a 0.015% market share of new car sales,^[77] and during the first half of 2014 sales reached 114 units.^[78] Deliveries of the Tesla Model S in Australia began in late 2014.^[79] Deliveries of the BMW i3 also commenced at the end of 2014. Sales during 2014 totaled 1,228 units, up 288% from 2013.^[80] The plug-in electric segment reached a 0.11% market share of total new car sales in the country, up threefold from 0.036% in 2013.^[74][80] The surge in sales was due to the introduction of the Mitsubishi Outlander P-HEV, which sold 895 units during 2014, and became Australia's top selling plug-in electric vehicle.^[80] Cumulative sales in the Australian market since 2010 reached over 1,950 units by the end of December 2014, up from 304 units in 2013.^{[67][74][80][81][82][83]}

A total of 246 Holden Volts had been sold in the country by mid April 2015, with the stock of the first generation almost empty. General Motors announced that it will not build the second generation Volt in right-hand-drive configuration, so the Holden Volt will be discontinued in the country when the remaining stock is sold out.^[84] As of April 2015, the following models are available in the Australian market: Nissan Leaf, Tesla Model S, both variants of the BMW i3 (REx and all-electric), BMW i8, Mitsubishi Outlander P-HEV, and Porsche plug-in hybrids, 918 Spyder, Panamera and Cayenne.^[84][85][86] Other models scheduled to be launched in the country include the Audi A3 e-tron and the Audi Q7 e-tron.^[84]

As of December 2014, a total of 65 Model S cars were registered in New South Wales and only four in Victoria.^[81] At the end of March 2015, registrations totaled 119 in New South Wales and 54 in Victoria. Although there were no sales figures reported for Tesla in other states, the combined sales of these two states alone were enough for the Model S to rank as the top selling all-electric car in the country for the first quarter of 2015, ahead of the BMW i3 (46) and the Nissan Leaf (31).^[81] Australia's top selling plug-in electric vehicle for the first quarter of 2015 was the Outlander P-HEV, with 198 units sold,^[87] and continued as the country's all-time best selling plug-in with 1,093 units sold through March 2015 since its introduction in 2014.^[80][87]

The following table presents registrations of highway-capable plug-in electric cars by year between 2010 and March 2015:

Registration of highway-capable plug-in electric cars by model in Australia between 2010 and December 2014
Model	Total 2010–2015(1)	1Q 2015[81][87]	2014[80][81]	2013[74]	2012[82]	2011[67]	2010[83]
Mitsubishi Outlander P-HEV	1,093	198	895	–	–	–	–
Nissan Leaf	488	31	173	188	77	19	–
Mitsubishi i MiEV	252	0	0	15	95	30	112
Holden Volt	245	6	58	101	80	–	–
Tesla Model S	173	104(2)	69(2)	–	–	–	–
BMW i3	79	46	33	–	–	–	–
Tesla Roadster	11	0	0	0	5	6	–
Total registrations	2,341	385	1,228	304	257	55	112
Notes: (1) CYTD: current year-to-date sales through March 2015. (2) Model S figures correspond only to registrations in New South Wales and Victoria.[81]

Belgium

Sales of electric cars in the country rose from 97 units in 2009, to 116 in 2010, 425 in 2011, to 1,038 electric-drive vehicles by early October 2012. Of the latter, only 350 units were sold to individual customers. The three top selling plug-electric cars sold in 2012 through September 2012 are the Opel Ampera with 155 units, the Peugeot iOn with 95, and the Renault Fluence Z.E. with 86 units.^[88] The Nissan Leaf sold 57 units during the first half of 2012,^[89] and the Chevrolet Volt 24 units during the same period.^[90] A total of 900 electric cars were sold in 2012.^[91]

The Belgian government established a personal income tax deduction of 30% of the purchase price including VAT of a new electric vehicle, up to €9,510. Plug-in hybrids are not eligible.^[92][93][94] This tax incentive will end on December 31, 2012.^[88] There is also available a tax deduction up to 40% for investments in external recharging stations publicly accessible, to a maximum of €250.^[92] The Wallonia regional government has an additional €4,500 eco-bonus for cars registered before December 31, 2011.^[95]

Brazil

A total of 117 electric drive vehicles were registered in Brazil in 2012, and 383 during the first ten months of 2013. These figures include both conventional hybrid electric vehicles and plug-in electric cars. Registrations during 2013 represent a 0.01% market share of new cars sales in the country through October 2013.^[96] As of February 2013, there were only 70 electric cars registered in the country, of which, 68 are corporate cars, including 9 Nissan Leafs that are being demonstrated as taxis in São Paulo.

As of September 2015, there were 2,214 hybrid and electric vehicles registered in the state of São Paulo, including passenger cars (723), buses, motorcycles and mopeds. Of these, 1,274 electric-drive vehicles are registered in São Paulo city, of which, 387 are passenger cars.^[97]

In May 2010 the government put on hold a new policy to promote the introduction of electric cars, and a decision is still pending. Instead, plug-in electric cars and hybrid electric vehicles are subject to high taxes. As of February 2013 these included a 35% import tax, plus a 55% tax on industrialized products (IPI) imported outside Mercosur and Mexico, 13% contribution to social security (PIS/COFINS), and between 12 to 18% tax on transit of goods and services (ICMS), depending on the state, adding up to more than 120%. The tax burden results in an average final price of R$200,000 (US$100,000) for an electric car, and up to R$120,000 (US$60,000) for a regular hybrid.^[98][99] As of March 2014, the IPI for imported hybrid and electric vehicles varies between 13% to 25%, but the government is considering to exempt electric cars from IPI and reduce the tax to hybrids to 2%, the same levy paid by small cars manufactured in Brazil.^[100]

In March 2013, the first two Leafs out of a fleet of 15, were deployed in Rio de Janeiro to operate as taxis. This program is a partnership between the government of Rio de Janeiro City, Nissan do Brasil (NBA) and Petrobras Distribuidora. The first two electric taxis are available at the Santos Dumont airport stand, and charging is provided in two Petrobras service stations at the Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas and in the Barra da Tijuca neighborhood. The program is part of the city's goal to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases by 16% by 2016 compared to emission levels of 2005.^[101]

In June 2013, Nissan and the government of the State of Rio de Janeiro signed a memorandum of understanding to study the possibility of manufacturing the Nissan Leaf in the state, and the entire infrastructure necessary for running electric cars. The state government would provide fiscal incentives during the investment phase, and the electric car will be exempted from import taxes.^[102][103]

In May 2014 São Paulo city passed a municipal law to exempt plug-in electric, hybrids and fuel cell vehicles from the city's driving restriction scheme (Portuguese: rodízio veicular). Also owners of electric drive cars with a purchase price up to R$150,000 (~ US$65,200) are entitled to a 50% reimbursement of the annual car ownership tax (IPVA) for five years up to a total of R$10,000 (~ US$4,300).^[104] The benefits went into effect in September 2015.^[97]

In September 2014 the BMW i3 became the first plug-in electric car available in the country for retail customers. Due to the high import taxes, the i3 pricing starts at R$225,900 (US$98,500) for the all-electric model and at R$235.950 (US$102,600) for the model with the range-extender. The i3 is available only in eight cities: São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Curitiba, Brasilia, Belo Horizonte, Salvador, Recife, and Joinville.^[104][105]

According to Research and Markets, electric vehicles sales in the country are expected to reach 80,000 units annually in 2020. The research firm forecasts that the Brazilian electric vehicle market will likely be dominated by scooter and motorcycles.^[106]

Canada

As of December 2014, over 10,000 highway-capable plug-in electric cars have been sold in Canada since January 2011.^[107] Canadian sales are evenly split between all-electric cars (50.8)% and plug-in hybrids (49.2%).^[48] The Chevrolet Volt, released in 2011, ranking as the top selling plug-in electric vehicle in the country, with cumulative sales of 3,952 units through December 2014, representing 37% of the plug-in segment sales.^[48][108] Ranking second is the Nissan Leaf with 1,965 units, followed by the Tesla Model S with about 1,580 units delivered as of December 2014.^[48][109] In terms of monthly sales, since December 2014 the Tesla Model S has been the top selling plug-in electric vehicle in the country.^[110]

A total of 1,969 plug-in cars were sold in 2012, up from 521 in 2011. Sales climbed 57.7% in 2013 to 3,106 units, and in 2014 were up 63.0% from 2013 to 5,062 units, reaching cumulative sales of 10,658 plug-in cars through December 2014. The market share of the plug-in electric car segment grew from 0.03% in 2011, to 0.12% in 2012, and reached 0.27% of new car sales in the country in 2014.^[48]

British Columbia is the only place in the country where it is legal to drive a low-speed vehicle (LSV) electric car on public roads, although it also requires low speed warning marking and flashing lights. Quebec is allowing LSVs in a three-year pilot project. These cars will not be allowed on the highway, but will be allowed on city streets.

In January 2009, Hydro-Québec and Mitsubishi signed an agreement to test 50 i-MiEV, the largest pilot test of electric cars in Canada ever. The test's goal was to allow a better understanding of winter usage of the technology. BC-Hydro and Mitsubishi had previously tested a three-vehicle fleet in British Columbia.^[111] In October 2010, Transport Canada and Mitsubishi Motor Sales of Canada announced a partnership to test the Mitsubishi i-MiEV. Transport Canada’s ecoTECHNOLOGY for Vehicles (eTV) Program tested two i-MiEVs in government facilities and in a variety of real-world conditions. This program aim was to evaluate the i-MiEV road performance and range.^[112] Retail sales of the i-MiEV began in December 2011,^[113][114]

The Nissan Leaf roll-out in Canada began with fleet customers on July 29, 2011,^[115] and deliveries to individuals began in late September 2011.^[116][117] As of December 2011, the Leaf was sold only through 27 Leaf-certified dealers for the entire country, and sales are limited to customers who live within a 65 km (40 mi) radius of one of those dealers.^[118] Cumulative sales through December 2014 reached 1,965 units, and, as of December 2014, the Leaf ranks as the top selling all-electric car in the country.^[48][109]

Retail sales of the Tesla Model S began in 2012, with 95 cars delivered that year. A total of 638 units were sold in 2013, and cumulative sales reached 1,580 units through December 2014, allowing the Model S to rank as the second best selling all-electric car in the country.^[48][119] During 2014 the BMW i3, Kia Soul EV, BMW i8 and Porsche 918 Spyder were introduced in the Canadian market.^[48]

The following table presents registrations by year of all the highway-capable plug-in electric cars available in Canada between 2011 and December 2014.

Highway-capable plug-in electric car sales by model in Canada between 2011 and December 2014
Model	Total Sales 2011-2014	Sales 2014	Sales 2013	Sales 2012	Sales 2011
Chevrolet Volt[108]	3,952	1,521	931	1,225	275
Nissan Leaf[109]	1,965	1,085	470	240	170
Tesla Model S[48]	1,580	847	638	95
Smart electric drive[48]	811	561	222	28
Mitsubishi i MiEV[120]	496	109	168	196	23
Ford C-Max Energi[48]	471	272	199
Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid[121]	351	76	212	63
Ford Fusion Energi[48]	285	169	116
BMW i3[122]	227	227
Ford Focus Electric[48]	202	44	103	55
Fisker Karma[48]	100	7	26	67
Tesla Roadster[48]	53				53
Cadillac ELR[48]	48	44	4
Kia Soul EV[48]	39	39
Chevrolet Spark EV[48]	31	26	5
BMW i8[48]	28	28
Porsche 918 Spyder[48]	7	7
Toyota RAV4 EV[48]	3		3
Total PEV sales[48]	10,649	5,062	3,097	1,969	521
PEV market share of new car sales[48]		0.27%	0.18%	0.12%	0.03%

Advocacy and meetings

Canada's National Advanced Transportation Center, an electric vehicle advocacy group, will attempt in April 2014 to break the Guinness World Record for the largest electric-vehicle parade.^[123]

Government incentives

Purchase incentives for new plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) were established in Ontario consisting of a rebate between CA$5,000 (4 kWh battery) to CA$8,500 (17 kWh or more) (~US$5,050 to US$8,650), depending on battery size, for purchasing or leasing a new PEV after July 1, 2010. The rebates will be available to the first 10,000 applicants who qualify.^[124][125] The province also introduced green-coloured licence plates for exclusive use of plug-in hybrids and battery electric vehicles.^{[124][126][127]} These unique green vehicle plates allow PEV owners to travel in the province's carpool lanes until 2015 regardless of the number of passengers in the vehicle. Also, owners are eligible to use recharging stations at GO Transit and other provincially owned parking lots.^[124][127]

Quebec began offering rebates of up to CA$8,500 (US$8,650) beginning on January 1, 2012, for the purchase of new plug-in electric vehicles equipped with a minimum of 4 kWh battery, and new hybrid electric vehicles are eligible for a CA$1,000 rebate. All-electric vehicles with high-capacity battery packs are eligible for the full CA$8,000 rebate, and incentives are reduced for low-range electric cars and plug-in hybrids. Quebec's government earmarked CA$50 million(US$52.3 million) for the program, and the maximum rebate amount is slowly reduced every year until a maximum of CA$3,000 in 2015, but the rebates will continue until the fund runs out. There is also a ceiling for the maximum number of eligible vehicles: 10,000 for all-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids, and 5,000 for conventional hybrids.^[128][129]

The Government of British Columbia announced the LiveSmart BC program which will start offering rebates of up to CA$5,000 per eligible clean energy vehicle commencing on December 1, 2011. The incentives will be available until March 31, 2013 or until available funding is depleted, whichever comes first. Available funds are enough to provide incentives for approximately 1,370 vehicles. Battery electric vehicles, fuel cell vehicles and plug-in hybrids with battery capacity of 15.0 kWh and above are eligible for a CA$5,000 incentive. Also effective December 1, 2011, rebates of up to CA$500 per qualifying electric vehicle charging equipment will be available to B.C. residents who have purchased a clean energy vehicle.^[130][131]

China

The Chinese government adopted in 2009 a plan to leapfrog current automotive technology, and seize the growing new energy vehicle (NEV) market to become of the world leaders in manufacturing of all-electric and hybrid vehicles. The government's political support for the adoption of electric vehicles has four goals, to create a world-leading industry that would produce jobs and exports; energy security to reduce its oil dependence which comes from the Middle East; to reduce urban air pollution; and to reduce its carbon emissions.^[136][137]

In June 2012 the State Council of China published a plan to develop the domestic energy-saving and new energy vehicle industry. The plan set a sales target of 500,000 new energy vehicles by 2015 and 5 million by 2020.^[138][139] As sales were much lower than initially expected, and most of the deployed NEV stock has been purchased by the government for public fleets, new monetary incentives were issued in 2014, and the national government set a sales target of 160,000 units for 2014.^[140][141] Although the goal was not achieved, new energy vehicles sales in 2014 totaled 74,763 units, up 324% from 2013. The surge in demand continued in 2015, with a total of 331,092 NEVs sold in 2015, rising 343% year-on-year.^[29][135] The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) expects new energy vehicle sales to more than double 2015 sales and reach 700,000 NEVs in 2016.^[142]

Government incentives

The Chinese government uses the term new energy vehicles (NEVs) to designate plug-in electric vehicles, and only pure electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles are subject to purchase incentives. Initially, conventional hybrids were also included.^[143] On June 1, 2010, the Chinese government announced a trial program to provide incentives for new energy vehicles of up to 60,000 yuan (~US$9,281 in June 2011) for private purchase of new battery electric vehicles and 50,000 yuan (~US$7,634 in June 2011) for plug-in hybrids in five cities.^[144][145] The government set the goal to raise the country's annual production capacity to 500,000 plug-in hybrid or all-electric cars and buses by the end of 2011, up from 2,100 in 2008.^[136] A mid-September 2013 joint announcement by the National Development and Reform Commission and finance, science, and industry ministries confirmed that the central government will provide a maximum of US$9,800 toward the purchase of an all-electric passenger vehicle and up to US$81,600 for an electric bus. The subsidies are part of the government's efforts to address China's problematic air pollution.^[146]

Sales

New energy vehicle sales between January 2011 and December 2015 totaled 444,447 units, of which, over 90% were sold during the last two years, with 331,092 units (74.5%) in 2015, and 74,763 (16.8%) in 2014. These figures include heavy-duty commercial vehicles such buses and sanitation trucks. The Chinese stock of plug-in electric vehicles consist of 324,088 all-electric vehicles and 120,359 plug-in hybrids.^{[29][132][133][134][135]} As of December 2014, a total of 83,198 plug-in electric passenger cars had been registered in the country since 2008.^[7] With 176,627 plug-in passenger cars sold in 2015, China passed the U.S., the top selling country in 2014, and became the world's best-selling plug-in electric car country market in 2015.^[6][147] As of December 2015, in terms of light-duty plug-in electric car stock, China ranks second after the United States, with cumulative sales of 258,328 plug-in cars, representing 21% of the global stock of highway legal plug-in electric passenger cars.^[6]

As of December 2015, China is the world's leader in the plug-in heavy-duty segment, including electric buses, plug-in trucks, particularly sanitation/garbage trucks.^[3][137] Over 160,000 heavy-duty new energy vehicles have been sold between 2011 and 2015, of which, 123,710 (77.2%) were sold in 2015.^[7][135] Sales of commercial new energy vehicles in 2015 consisted of 100,763 all-electric vehicles (81.5%)and 22,947 plug-in hybrid vehicles (18.5%).^[135] The share of all-electric bus sales in the Chinese bus market climbed from 2% in 2010 to 9.9% in 2012, and was expected to be closed to 20% for 2013.^[148] As of December 2014, China had about 36,500 all-electric buses.^[7] As of December 2015, China is the world's largest electric bus market, and by 2020, the country is expected to account for more than 50% of the global electric bus market.^[149]

A total of 8,159 new energy vehicles were sold in China during 2011, including passenger cars (61%) and buses (28%). Of these, 5,579 units were all-electric vehicles and 2,580 plug-in hybrids.^[132] Electric vehicle sales represented 0.04% of total new car sales in 2011.^[150] Sales of new energy vehicles in 2012 reached 12,791 units, which includes 11,375 all-electric vehicles and 1,416 plug-in hybrids.^[133] New energy vehicle sales in 2012 represented 0.07% of the country's total new car sales.^[151] During 2013 new energy vehicle sales totaled 17,642 units, up 37.9% from 2012 and representing 0.08% of the nearly 22 million new car sold in the country in 2013. Deliveries included 14,604 pure electric vehicles and 3,038 plug-in hybrids.^[134][152] The top selling new energy car in China between 2011 and 2013 was the Chery QQ3 EV city car, with 2,167 units sold in 2011, 3,129 in 2012, and 5,727 in 2013.^[137]

New energy vehicle sales in China during 2014 totaled 74,763 units, consisting of 45,048 all-electric vehicles, and 29,715 plug-in hybrids. Of these, 71% were passenger cars, 27% buses, and 1% trucks.^[154] Pure electric vehicle sales increased 210% from 2013 while plug-in hybrid sales grew 880% from the previous year. The plug-in electric segment market share reached 0.32% of the 23.5 million new car sales sold in 2014.^[29] The BYD Qin ranked as the top selling plug-in electric car in China in 2014, with 14,747 units sold during the year,^[154] and became the country's top selling plug-in passenger car ever.^[153] The Qin was followed by the all-electrics Kandi EV with 14,398, Zotye Zhidou E20, with 7,341 units, and BAIC E150 EV with 5,234.^[154][156]

Domestically produced new energy vehicle sales in 2015 totaled a record 331,092 units, consisting of 247,482 all-electric vehicles and 83,610 plug-in hybrid vehicles, up 449% and 191% from 2014, respectively.^[135] Sales of plug-in passenger cars, excluding imports, totaled 176,627 units in 2015, allowing China to rank as the world's best-selling plug-in electric car country market in 2015.^[6] The plug-in electric passenger car segment market share rose to 0.84% in 2015, up from 0.25% in 2014.^[157] The top selling passenger models in 2015 were the BYD Qin plug-in hybrid with 31,898 units sold,^[155] followed by the BYD Tang (18,375),^[158] and the all-electrics Kandi EV (16,736), BAIC E150/160/200 EV (16,488), and the Zotye Z100 EV (15,467).^[159]

As of December 2015, with 31,898 units sold in 2015, the BYD Qin continued to rank as the all-time top selling plug-in passenger car in the country, with cumulative sales of 46,787 units since its introduction.^{[134][153][154][155]} The BYD Qin was the world's second best selling plug-in hybrid car in 2015 after the Mitsubishi Outlander P-HEV, and also ranked fifth among the world's top selling plug-in electric cars in 2015.^[160] BYD Auto ended 2015 as the world's best selling manufacturer of highway legal light-duty plug-in electric vehicles, with around 60,000 units sold, followed by Tesla Motors, with 50,580 units sold in 2015.^[160][161]

The following table presents annual sales of the top selling new energy passenger cars by model with cumulative sales of about or over 3,000 units between 2011 and December 2015.

Sales of top selling new energy cars in China by model between 2011 and December 2015
Model	Total sales 2011-2015	NEV segment market share(1)	Sales 2015[155][159][158][162]	Sales 2014[154][156][163]	Sales 2013[137][152]	Sales 2012[137][164]	Sales 2011[137][165][166]
BYD Qin	46,787	10.5%	31,898	14,747	142	N/A	N/A
Kandi EV	31,134	7.0%	16,736	14,398	N/A	N/A	N/A
BAIC E150/160/200 EV	23,832	5.4%	16,488	5,234	1,466	644
BYD Tang	18,375	4.1%	18,375	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Chery QQ3 EV	16,247(2)	3.7%	3,208(2)	2,016(3)	5,727	3,129	2,167
Zotye Cloud/Z100 EV	15,467	3.5%	15,467	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
JAC J3/iEV	15,279	3.5%	~9,000	~1,000	1,309	2,485	1,585(4)
BYD e6	14,257(5)	3.2%	7,029	3,560	1,544	1,690	401
Zotye Zhidou E20	13,726	3.1%	6,385	7,341	N/A	N/A	N/A
SAIC Roewe 550 PHEV	11,711	2.6%	10,711	~1,000	N/A	N/A	N/A
Chery eQ	7,804	1.8%	7,262	542	N/A	N/A	N/A
Tesla Model S[167][168][169]	5,524(6)	1.2%	3,025(6)	2,499	N/A	N/A	N/A
Geely-Kandi Panda EV	4,939	1.1%	3,654	1,285	N/A	N/A	N/A
BYD F3DM	3,284(5)	0.7%	N/A	N/A	1,005	1,201	613
Denza EV	3,020	0.7%	2,888	132	N/A	N/A	N/A
Total new energy vehicles sales[29][132][133][134][135]	444,447(7)	-	331,092	74,763	17,642	12,791	8,159
Notes: (1) Model market share as percentage of the 444,447 new electric vehicles sold between 2011 and December 2015. (2) Only sales between January and June 2015.[170] (3) Only includes sales between January and March 2014. (4) Combined sales for 2010 and 2011.[166] (5) BYD e6 total includes 33 units sold in 2010. F3DM total includes 417 units sold in 2010 and 48 in 2009.[171][172] (6) Tesla Model S sales through September 2015. (7) Total annual NEV sales figures include heavy-duty vehicles, such all-electric buses and santitation trucks, but do not include Tesla Model S sales nor any other imports.

Chile

The Mitsubishi i-MiEV was launched in May 2011 at a price of CLP28,9 million (US$60,000). Initial availability was limited to 25 units.^[173][174] The first public quick charging station in the country was opened in April 2011 in preparation for the arrival of the first i-MiEV electric cars.^[175] As of August 2012, only 10 units have been sold.^[176]

In August 2014 Mitsubishi withdrew the i-Miev from the market due to its low sales volume and introduced the Outlander PHEV at a lower price of US$54,000. Later that year BMW introduced their "i" range with the i3 (US$55,000) and i8 (US$225,000) plug-in cars; while Renault launched their whole Zero Emission (Z.E.) lineup, including the Fluence Z.E. sedan, the Kangoo utility van and Zoe city car. The French brand sold 22 electric vehicles in their first month in the Chilean market.

Colombia

In 2013 the government established incentives to promote the adoption of plug-in electric vehicles. These include the exemption from the driving restriction scheme (Spanish: Pico y placa) in place in several Colombian cities such as Bogotá and Medellín. Also the government exempted all-electric and plug-in hybrid cars from import duties for three years, but limited to an annual quota of 750 plug-in cars of each type. All-electric vehicles are exempted 100% if the vehicle's "Free On Board" (FOB) value is less than US$52,000, while plug-ins with an internal combustion engine of less than 3 liters, the import duty was reduced to 5%.^[177]

The first South American all-electric taxi fleet made up of BYD e6 was launched at the beginning of 2013 in Bogotá, the capital city of Colombia after receiving operation approval by the Colombia Ministry of Transportation. These taxis are exempted from the driving restriction scheme. The program is an effort to improve the local air quality and set an example to other cities in the country.^{[178][179][180]} In September 2013 a total of 45 e6 taxis of this pilot program were delivered. The e6 fleet are part of Colombia’s "BIOTAXIS Project."^[181] Another three BYD e6s were sent to Colceincias, Bogota’s Tech, Science and Innovation Administration.^[180]

The BMW i3 was introduced in Colombia in late 2014 with pricing starting at COP$154.9 million (~US$49,000). As of June 2015, i3 sales totaled 25 units.^[177] The all-electric Renault Twizy quadracycle was introduced in the Colombian market in June 2015, at a price starting at COP$40 million (~US$12,650).^[182] Sales of the Mitsubishi Outlander P-HEV were scheduled to begin in September 2015.^[177]

Retail sales during 2014 totaled 52 pure electric cars and four plug-in hybrids. Lower sales than expected are the result of lack of charging infrastructure and the relatively high price of plug-in vehicles despite the reduced import duties. In addition to the charging stations used for the electric taxi fleet, there is only one public charging point in Bogotá.^[177] As of June 2015, a totalof 126 plug-in electric vehicles have been sold in the country, mostly to corporate customers, and consisting of 43 BYD e6s (taxis), 35 Mitsubishi i-MiEVs, 25 BMW i3s, 19 Renault Twizys, and four Nissan Leafs.^[177] A total of 203 Twizys had been sold as of October 2015, of which, 114 were sold in October,^[183] capturing a 0.1% market share of new car sales, and placing Colombia at the forefront of electric vehicle market in Latin America, along with Costa Rica.^[184]

Costa Rica

As of January 2015, the Costa Rican stock of electric drive vehicles consisted of 477 hybrid electric vehicles and 2,229 plug-in electric vehicles, including passenger cars, buses, motorcycles, quadricycles and electric bicycles. With a registered fleet of 1,399,082 units at the end of 2014, electric vehicles represent a 0.16% share of the Costa Rican stock of motor vehicles.^[185][186] Costa Rica is considered the leading country in electric vehicle adoption in Latin America.^[184]

The first electric car to go on sale in the country was the REVAi, introduced in March 2009. The REVAi, powered by lead–acid batteries, sold 10 units during its first month in the market, 5 by corporate clients and 5 by individual customers.^[187] The Mitsubishi i MiEV was launched in February 2011, with initial availability limited to 25 to 50 units.^{[188][189][190]} According to Mitsubishi, Costa Rica was selected at the first market launch in the Americas due to its environmental record, despite the lack of government incentives for purchasing electric cars.^[190][191]

As of February 2012, only a total of 61 all-electric cars had been registered in the country, with 31 purchased by individual customers, and 30 sold to embassies, universities, and corporate clients. Lack of charging infrastructure, there are no public charging stations in the country, and the need to introduce government incentives to reduce purchase taxes, were cited as the main causes for the low volume sales.^[192] Nissan signed an agreement with the Costa Rican government in February 2012 to implement a pilot program as part of the introduction of the Nissan Leaf in the country. A task force was created through the agreement to assess the infrastructure requirements for the deployment of electric cars and the definition necessary government incentives for consumers to purchase electric cars.^[193] Nissan planned to start Leaf sales by late 2013.^[194]

In January 2013 BYD Auto signed an agreement with the Costa Rican Ministry of Environment and Energy to deploy 200 BYD e6 electric cars for use as "green taxis." The electric cars will be exempt from import duties and the government has agreed to deploy charging stations in strategic locations in the city of San José.^[195] Retail sales of the BYD Qin plug-in hybrid began in Costa Rica in November.^[196][197] Retail sales of the Mitsubishi Outlander P-HEV began in March 2015.^[198]

Government incentives

Initially, the only existing fiscal incentive for the purchase of electric vehicles was the exemption from the consumption tax implemented in 2006, while conventional vehicles pay a 30% rate. A bill introduced in 2010 to reduce purchase and import duty taxes did not move forward in the Legislative Assembly.^[192] Since October 2012, electric cars are exempted from the driving restriction implemented by plate number to restrict access to downtown San José, the country's capital.^[194]

In October 2015 a new bill was introduced into the Legislative Assembly, called, “Incentives and Promotion of the Electric Transport”, which would eliminate all taxation on all-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles including import duties, consumption tax, and sales tax, which would result in a 44% reduction of the current retail price. The bill also proposes free parking at parking meters for electric vehicles, free designated parking at private and public facilities, and a five-year exemption from the annual road tax. The bill set a cap of 100,000 units to benefit from the law and the benefits would be in place for five-years, whichever comes first. Vehicles eligible for the tax exemptions includes passenger cars, passenger vans, motorcycles, buses and trains.^[186][199]

The bill also promotes the development of charging infrastructure with goal to provide charging points every 80 km (50 mi) on national highways and every 120 km (75 mi) on the municipal road network. The proposed law also mandates all government agencies to replace 10% of their auto fleets with plug-in electric vehicles; and public transportation and taxi services are mandated to slowly replace their fleets with electric vehicles, with a minimum of 10% of plug-in electric cars for new taxi cab medallions ("ecotaxis"). In addition, the law would provide income tax incentives for corporations that replace with plug-ins at least 10% of their fleets, with a minimum of three company cars.^[186][200]

Croatia

A small city car called XD assembled by Croatian company DOK-ING.^[201] The name XD comes from oddly shaped rear lights ("X" shaped) and "D" beginning letter of the company's name. The XD can travel over 250 km on a single charge with Lithium-ion batteries. Car's base-cost will be only €10,000. Serial production is predicted to start mid-2012.

Denmark

The country currently generates about a third of its electric power from wind energy,^[202] but some of it is exported to hydropower storage in Norway and elsewhere because there is currently no way for utilities to store the excess power inside Denmark. As of 2015 there are around 4,000 electric cars in Denmark.^[203]

Better Place partnered with Denmark's leading energy company, Dong Energy, in a €103 million (770 million Danish Kroner) investment to introduce electric cars and infrastructure to Denmark. With the Better Place model, Dong hoped to leverage the existing electric grid and electric vehicle batteries to harness and store the abundance of wind-generated power and distribute appropriately for transportation consumption.^[204][205] The network commercial launch was scheduled for late 2011.^[58]

The first battery switch station in Denmark, out of 20 planned to be deployed across the country until March 2012 as part of the network of charging infrastructure, was unveiled in June 2011 at Gladsaxe, near Copenhagen.^[206] Sales of the Renault Fluence Z.E., the electric car selected for the network, began in late 2011, and 234 units were sold in Denmark between 2012 and April 2013.^[207] As of December 2012 there were 17 battery swapping stations fully operational in the country enabling Danish customers to drive anywhere across the country in an electric car.^[208] On 26 May 2013, and following the decision of the Board of Directors of Better Place's global company, Better Place Danmark A/S decided to begin bankruptcy proceedings.^[209][210] Some of these stations were converted to hydrogen-producing fuel stations for hydrogen cars such as the Toyota Mirai.^[211]

A taxi demonstration project in Copenhagen, including three Fluences and a Nissan Leaf, began in May 2013 scheduled to run through the second quarter of 2015. The demonstration was supported with a 12.5 million kroner government grant.^[212]

Estonia

As of February 2015, a total of 1,188 plug-in electric vehicles were registered in Estonia. As of December 2013, there were 757 all-electric cars registered in Estonia, up from 619 pure electric cars registered through 2012.^[13][213] With a total of 506 pure electric cars during 2012, Estonia ranked second after Norway in terms of EV penetration of the total auto fleet, with 1 electric car for every 1,000 registered cars.^[13] However, the market share of the all-electric car segment dropped from 2.39% in 2012 to 0.69% in 2013, as registrations decreased to 138 units in 2013.^[213] The top selling electric car in 2013 was the Nissan Leaf with 95 units sold.^[213]

Estonia is the first country that completed the deployment of an EV charging network with nationwide coverage, with fast chargers available along highways at a minimum distance of between 40 to 60 km (25 to 37 mi).^[14][15] As of December 2012, the nationwide network consisted of 165 fast chargers fully financed by the Estonian government, with an average separation on highways of 60 km (37 mi) with a higher density on urban areas. These public fast chargers are dual units, with a 50 kW CHAdeMO port and a 22 kW AC plug.^[214][215]

Carbon credits exchange

On March 3, 2011, the government of Estonia confirmed the sale to Mitsubishi Corporation of 10 million carbon dioxide credits in exchange for 507 i-MiEV electric cars. The deal also included funding to build 250 fast charging stations in larger towns and main highways by 2013, and subsidies for the first 500 private buyers of any electric car approved by the European Union.^[216][217] The first 50 i-MiEVs were delivered in October 2011 and this official fleet was assigned for use by municipal social workers.^[218][219] During the first round of allocations of the electric cars, municipalities requested only 336 of the 507 i-MiEVs available. Several local authorities stated concerns about the electric car performance during harsh winter conditions, maintenance costs and the i-MiEV' reliability on difficult countryside roads.^[220][221]

Finland

Electric cars are also present in Finland, with companies such as Valmet Automotive (Fisker Karma and Garia A/S electric golf cart production) and also agreement of Think City car production,^[222] Fortum (concept cars and infrastructure), Kabus (hybrid buses; part of Koiviston Auto Oy), BRP Finland (part of Bombardier Recreational Products), Lynx (snowmobile), Patria (military vehicles), European Batteries (Li-ion battery plant in Varkaus), Finnish Electric Vehicles (battery control systems), ABB, Efore, Vacon (electric motor technology production), Ensto (production of charging units), Elcat (electric vehicle production since the 1980s), production of electric car accessories, Suomen Sähköauto Oy (produces small electric cars), Oy AMC Motors Ltd. (produces and designs small electric cars), Raceabout^[223] (specialist electric sport car with very few sales), Gemoto skooters from Cabotec, Resonate's Gemini and Janus Scooters, Moto Bella Oy, Axcomotors, Randax, Visedo.

Research related to electric cars is in progress at the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and Tekes.

Electric Motor Show

Sharing knowledge is also in progress: in Helsinki the Electric Motor Show was held from 10 to 12 September 2010.^[224] The show will feature only cars, motorcycles, scooters, mopeds and microcars and components for them. Year 2010 is second year for Helsinki Electric motor show. The plan is to hold the show annually.

Infrastructure

Basic charging infrastructure is already available all over Finland, used for engine pre-warming in the cold winters. Because of its climate – cold winters and warm summers – Finland is considered a convenient "test laboratory" for electric cars and many companies have made field tests in Finland. It has been said in Autobild 08/09 magazine that Fortum is developing the high-speed charging system. With a new kind of three-phase charging method electric cars can be charged in four minutes. A commercial product should be ready by 2011.

There are also mines and metal refineries for lithium alloy in Finland. At the moment there are several mining projects under way such as the Keliber project.^[225]

Support organizations

There are several electric car organisations in Finland, such as the Electric Vehicle Association of Finland and Electric Vehicles Finland.

Electric Cars - Now!

There is also a non-commercial electric car conversion organisation called Electric Cars - Now!^[226] that converts standard Toyota Corollas into Li-ion battery-powered electric cars. As of August 2009, more than 1,700 pre-orders for conversion Toyotas have been placed. The speciality in the Electric Cars - Now! project is that it is an open source project: anyone can start similar production anywhere they want, the benefits for the customer being open-source spare part coding and so on. The ideas and design are freely available from the Electric Cars - Now! organisation.

France

Since January 2010, a total of 74,294 highway legal all-electric vehicles have been registered in France through December 2015.^[6] As of September 2015, the plug-in stock consisted of 39,595 passenger cars and 18,893 utility vans.^{[227][228][229][230][231]} Electric car registrations increased from 184 units in 2010 to 2,630 in 2011.^[232] Sales in 2012 increased 115% from 2011 to 5,663 cars,^[233] allowing France to rank 4th among the top selling EV countries, with an 11% market share of global all-electric car sales in 2012.^[234] Registrations reached 8,779 electric cars in 2013, up 55.0% from 2012,^[235] and the all-electric market share of total new car sales went up to 0.49% from 0.3% in 2012.^[233][236]

In addition, 5,175 electric utility vans were registered in 2013, up 42% from 2012,^[235] and representing a market share of 1.4% of all new light commercial vehicles sold in 2013.^[236] Sales of electric passenger cars and utility vans totaled 13,954 units in 2013,^[235] capturing a combined market share of 0.65% of these two segments new car sales.^[10] When accounting together sales of pure electric cars and light utility vehicles, France was the leading European all-electric market in 2012 and 2013.^{[10][235][237]}

A total of 15,045 all-electric cars and vans were registered in 2014, up 7.8% from 2013. With 10,560 cars registered in 2014, up 20.3% from the previous year, sales of all-electric vehicles passed the 10,000 unit milestone for the first time.^[230] This figure rises to 10,968 units if the BMW i3 with range extender is accounted for.^[28] All-electric utility vans continued to be a significant share of the all-electric segment, with 4,485 units registered in 2014, but down 13.3% from 2013.^[230] All-electric cars captured a 0.59% market share of the 1.7 million new car registered in France in 2014, while light-duty electric vehicles reached a 1.22% market share of their segment. Combined both segments represented a market share of 0.70% of new registrations in the country in 2014.^[239] Light-duty all-electric vehicle sales achieved its best monthly volume on record ever in December 2014, with 2,227 units registered, twice the volume registered the same month in 2013.^[230] The slow down in sales that took place in the French EV market during the first half of 2014, allowed Norway, with 18,649 new all-electric vehicles registered, to end 2014 as the top selling European market in the all-electric segment, with France ranking second.^[240][241] A total of 14,833 light-duty all-electric vehicles were sold during the first nine months of 2015, up 48% from 2014 year-on-year. Sales during this period consisted of 11,779 all-electric cars and 3,104 all-electric utility vehicles.^[231]

In France plug-in hybrids or rechargeable hybrids are classified and accounted together with conventional hybrid electric vehicles. Almost 1,500 plug-in hybrids were registered during 2012 and 2013.^[242][243] Of these, a total of 666 plug-in hybrids were registered during 2012. The segment sales were led by the Toyota Prius PHV, with 413 registrations, followed by the Opel Ampera with 190.^[242] During 2013 a total of 800 plug-in hybrids were sold, up 20% from 2012, with the Prius PHEV continuing as the segment leader with 393 units, followed by the Volvo V60 PHEV with 241 units and the Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid with 90 units.^[243] When plug-in hybrids sales in 2013 are accounted for, a total of 14,762 plug-in electric vehicles were registered in France in 2013,^[235][243] making the country to rank second in the plug-in European market after the Netherlands, which sold 28,673 plug-in electric vehicles in 2013.^[10] Plug-in hybrid car registrations totaled 1,519 units in 2014, almost doubling registrations from a year earlier.^[244] Plug-in hybrid sales were driven by the Mitsubishi Outlander P-HEV, with 820 units registered in 2014, representing 54% of the segment registrations in France that year.^[245] Between 2012 and 2014, cumulative plug-in hybrid registrations reached 2,985 units, rising cumulative French registrations of plug-in electric vehicles since 2005 to 46,590 units,^{[241][242][243][244]} just ahead of the Netherlands (45,020),^[246] and making France the European country where there were more plug-in electric vehicles on the road as of December 2014.^[241]

Electric car sales in the French market for 2011 were led by the Citroën C-Zero with 645 units followed by the Peugeot iOns with 639 vehicles, and the Bolloré Bluecar with 399 electric cars.^[232] During 2012, all-electric car registrations in France were led by the Bluecar with 1,543 units, the C-Zero with 1,409, and the iOn with 1,335, together representing 76% of all electric car sales that year.^[238] The Renault Kangoo Z.E. was the top selling utility electric vehicle with 2,869 units registered in 2012, representing a market share of 82% of the segment.^[237][247] The Renault Twizy electric quadricycle, launched in March 2012, sold 2,232 units during 2012, surpassing the Bolloré Bluecar, the top selling highway-capable electric car, and ranked as the second best selling plug-in electric vehicle after the Kangoo Z.E.^[248]

During 2013, registrations of pure electric cars were led by the Renault Zoe with 5,511 units representing 62.8% of total electric car sales, followed by the Nissan Leaf with 1,438 units.^[235] Registrations of all-electric light utility vehicles were led by the Renault Kangoo Z.E. with 4,174 units, representing 80.7% of the segment sales.^[235] During 2013 several electric cars from major manufacturers were launched in France. Tesla Model S deliveries to retail customers began in September 2013,^[250] the BMW i3 was launched in October, and the Volkswagen e-Up! in November.^[227]

The Zoe continued leading all-electric vehicle registration in 2014, with 5,970 units registered, followed by the Kangoo Z.E. van with 2,657 registrations, and the Nissan Leaf ranked next with 1,600 units.^[227][239] As of December 2014, the Renault Zoe is the French leader in the all-electric vehicle segment with 11,529 units registered since 2012, followed by the Kangoo Z.E. utility van with 10,483 units registered since 2010, the Bolloré Bluecar with 3,770 units, and the Nissan Leaf with 3,645 units.^{[227][235][239][247][249]} Most units of the Bluecar are in operation for the Autolib' car sharing service in Paris, and similar schemes in Lyon and Bordeaux.^[251]

The following table presents registrations of highway-capable electric vehicles by type and electric car registrations by model between 2010 and December 2014.

Registration of highway-capable all-electric vehicles by model and total registrations by vehicle type in France between January 2010 and December 2014[227]
Model	Total 2010-2014	Market share(1)	2014	2013	2012	2011	2010
Renault Zoe	11,529	41.4%	5,970	5,511	48
Bolloré Bluecar	3,770	13.6%	1,170	658	1,543	399
Nissan Leaf	3,645	13.1%	1,600	1,438	524	83
Peugeot iOn	2,419	8.7%	163	178	1,409	639	30
Citroën C-Zero	2,241	8.1%	154	80	1,335	645	27
Smart electric drive	1,139	4.1%	509	478	66	52	34
Mia electric	843	3.0%	9	201	384	249
Renault Fluence Z.E.	727	2.6%	5	18	295	396	13
Tesla Model S[227][252]	363	1.3%	328	35
Volkswagen e-Up!	329	1.2%	265	64
BMW i3(2)	261	0.9%	193	68
Th!nk City	121	0.4%				110	11
Mitsubishi i MiEV	112	0.4%		38	24	42	8
Volkswagen e-Golf	89	0.3%	89
Kia Soul EV	63	0.2%	63
Mini E	50	0.2%					50
Tesla Roadster	31	0.1%		1	10	9	11
Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive	15	0.05%	15
Volkswagen Golf blue-e-motion	15	0.05%			15
Nissan e-NV200 pax van	12	0.04%	12
Ford Focus Electric	12	0.04%	8	4
BMW ActiveE	10	0.04%			10
Volvo C30 Electric	6	0.02%				6
Lumeneo Neoma	3	0.01%		3
Total registrations electric cars[227]	27,816	63.8%	10,560	8,779	5,663	2,630	184
Renault Kangoo Z.E.[235][239][247][249]	10,483	66.4%	2,657	4,174	2,869	768	15
Total registrations utility vans[228][229][230]	15,789	36.2%	4,485	5,175	3,651	1,682	796
Total registrations highway-capable BEVs	43,605	100%	15,045	13,954	9,314	4,312	980
Note: (1) By model, is the market share as percentage of the 27,816 electric cars and 15,789 vans registered between 2010 and 2014, and by type, the share of each type of vehicle (car or van) as percentage of the 43,605 electric vehicles registered between 2010 and 2014.[227][228][229][230] (2) BMW i3 figures exclude units with REx option.

Government incentives

Until July 31, 2012, and under a Bonus-Malus system, a bonus was granted in France up to €5,000 for the purchase of new cars with CO₂ emissions of 60 gr/km or less that benefited all-electric cars and any plug-in hybrid with such low emissions. Vehicles emitting up to 125 gr/km or less, such as hybrids and natural gas vehicles, were granted up to €2,000.^[94][253] The incentive could not exceed 20% of the sales price including VAT, with the cost of the battery added if it is rented.^[94]

Effective on August 1, 2012, the government increased the bonus for electric cars up to €7,000 but capped at 30% of the vehicle price including VAT. The price includes any battery leasing charges, and therefore, electric cars which need a battery leasing contract also are eligible for the bonus. An electric car sold for €23 333 including VAT is eligible for the maximum bonus of 7000 euros. The emission level for the maximum bonus was raised to 20 gr/km or less. Cars with emission levels between 20 to 50 gr/km are eligible to a bonus of up to €5,000.^[254]

Germany

As of December 2015, there were around 50,000 plug-in electric cars registered in Germany.^[259] About 73% of the segment registrations took place during the last two years, with 13,049 units registered in 2014, and 23,464 registered in 2015.^[255][256] The official German definition of electric vehicles changed at the beginning of 2013, before that, official statistics only registered all-electric vehicles because plug-in hybrids were accounted together with conventional hybrids. As a result, the registrations figures for 2012 and older do not account for total new plug-in electric car registrations.^[260] As of November 2014, the country has 4,800 public charging stations.^[261]

The fleet of electric car registered in the country increased from 1,558 units in 2009 to 2,307 in 2010. The electric car stock in 2011 increased 96.8% from 2010 to 4,541 units registered, and up 56.7% from 2011 to 7,114 units in 2012, reaching 12,156 registered cars on 1 January 2014.^[46] At the beginning of 2014 registrations of plug-in electric vehicles represented a 0.028% market share of all passenger vehicles registered in Germany. Most of the plug-in stock in the country was registered by corporate buyers.^[46] The plug-in hybrid segment in the German market in 2014 experienced an explosive growth of 226.9% year-over-year, and the overall plug-in segment increased 75.5% from a year earlier.^[35][256] The surge in sales continued in 2015, the plug-in hybrid segment grew 125.1% year-over-year, while the all-electric segment climbed 91.2% from the previous year.^[255]

During 2011, a total of 2,154 pure electric cars were registered in the country, up from 541 units in 2010.^[257] All-electric car sales for 2011 were led by the Mitsubishi i-MiEV family with 683 i-MiEVs, 208 Peugeot iOns and 200 Citroën C-Zeros, representing 50.6% of all electric car registrations in 2011.^[257] Plug-in hybrid registrations totaled 266 units in 2011, 241 Opel Amperas and 25 Chevrolet Volts, for a total of 2,420 plug-in electric vehicles registered in 2011.^[262]

A total of 2,956 all-electric vehicles were registered in Germany during 2012, a 37.2% increase over 2011.^[258] When 901 registered plug-in hybrids are accounted for, 2012 registrations climb to 3,857 units,^[258][263] and sales of plug-in electric car represented a 0.12% market share of new passenger vehicles sold in the country in 2012.^[264] Most sales in the country were made by corporate and fleet customers and 1,493 all-electric vehicles were registered by the automobile industry, as demonstration or research vehicles.^[258] Registrations of plug-in electric-drive vehicles were led by the Opel Ampera extended-range electric car with 828 units, followed by the Smart electric drive with 734 units.^[263][265] In addition, a total of 2,413 Renault Twizys were sold during 2012, making Germany the top selling European market for the electric quadricycle.^[248][266]

A total of 7,436 new plug-in electric cars were registered in Germany in 2013, consisting of 6,051 all-electric cars and 1,385 plug-in hybrids.^[35] Total registrations at the end of 2013 reached 12,156 units.^[46] The Smart electric drive led new plug-in car registrations in 2013 with 2,146 units, followed by Renault Zoe with 1,019, the Nissan Leaf with 855 units, and the BMW i3 with 559.^[268][269] During the first six months of 2014 registrations totaled 5,763 units,^[270] with the BMW i3 as the segment leader with 1,378 units registered, followed by the Volkswagen e-Up! with 884 and the Smart ED with 645.^[271][272] The i3 ended 2014 as the top selling plug-in electric car with 2,233 units registered.^[267] Accounting for registrations of plug-in electric cars between January 2010 and June 2014, the leading model is the Smart electric drive with 3,959 units, with a significant number in use by carsharing services, followed by the BMW i3 with 1,937 units, Nissan Leaf with 1,693 units, Renault Zoe with 1,532, and Opel Ampera with 1,450 units.^{[257][258][262][263][268][269][271][272][273]}

The following table presents registrations of the top selling highway-capable plug-in electric cars available for retail customers by year between 2010 and June 2014.

Registration of highway-capable plug-in electric cars by model in Germany between 2010 and June 2014[257][258][262][263][268][269][271][272][273]
Model	Total 2010-2014(1)	2Q 2014	2013	2012	2011	2010
Smart electric drive	3,959	645	2,146	734	328	106
BMW i3	1,937	1,378	559
Nissan Leaf	1,693	380	855	451	7
Renault Zoe	1,532	513	1,019
Opel Ampera	1,450	46	335	828	241
Volkswagen e-Up!	1,034	884	150
Citroën C-Zero	950	17	276	454	200	3
Mitsubishi i MiEV	910	56	89	71	683	11
Tesla Model S	637	446	191
Peugeot iOn	520	0	48	263	208	1
Mitsubishi Outlander P-HEV	507	507
Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid	316	243	73
Renault Fluence Z.E.	273	0	60	213
Volkswagen e-Golf	231	231
Tesla Roadster	190			67	100	23
BMW ActiveE	124			11	113
Chevrolet Volt	73	0	25	23	25
Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid	63	51	12
BMW i8	55	55
Ford Focus Electric	51	16	35
Fisker Karma	50			50
Tazzari Zero	50				50
Volvo C30 Electric	21	9	0	12
Total and registrations by year[35][46][257][258][260]	17,919(2)	5,763	7,436	2,956(2)	2,154(2)	541(2)
Notes: (1) CYTD: current year-to-date sales through June 2014. (2) The official KBA registration numbers only registered all-electric vehicles before 2013 (plug-in hybrids were accounted together with conventional hybrids). As a result, these figures do not include plug-in hybrids, and the cumulative total does not reflect actual all new plug-in electric car registrations before 2013.[260]

Government incentives

In May 2010, under its National Plattform for Electric Mobility, Chancellor Angela Merkel set the goal to bring 1 million electric vehicles on German roads by 2020.^[274][275] However, the government also announced that it will not provide subsidies to the sales of plug-in electric cars but instead it will only fund research in the area of electric mobility.^[274] Electric vehicles and plug-ins in Germany are exempt from the annual circulation tax for a period of five years from the date of their first registration.^[94][276]

The private use of a company car is treated as taxable income in Germany and measured at a flat monthly rate of 1% of the vehicle's gross list price. So plug-in electric cars have been at a disadvantage since their price tag can be as much as double that of a car using a conventional internal combustion engine due to the high cost of the battery. In June 2013 German legislators approved a law that ends the tax disadvantage for corporate plug-in electric cars. The law, backdated to 1 January 2013, allows private users to offset the list price with €500 per unit of battery size, expressed in kilowatt hours (kWh). The maximum offset was set at €10,000 corresponding to a 20 kWh battery. the amount one can offset will sink annually by €50 per kilowatt hour.^[277]

In August 2014, the federal government announced its plan to introduce non-monetary incentives through new legislation to be effective by early 2015. The proposed user benefits include measures to privilege battery-powered cars, fuel cell vehicles and some plug-in hybrids, just like Norway does, by granting local governments the authority to allow these vehicles into bus lanes, and to offer free parking and reserved parking spaces in locations with charging points.^[278][279] Not all plug-in hybrids will qualify for the benefits, only those with CO₂ emissions of no more than 50 g/km or an all-electric range of over 30 km (19 mi) are eligible.^[280] The range criteria will rise to 40 km (25 mi) starting in 2018.^[281] The Bundestag passed the Electric Mobility Act in March 2015 authorizing local government to grant these non-monetary incentives, which are not mandatory. The law also provides issuing special license plates for electric vehicles to allow proper identification to avoid abuses of these privileges. As of March 2015, just 12 municipalities are considering to allow electric vehicles in the bus lanes in their jurisdiction. Most cities, including Hamburg and Munich, are not willing to allow electric cars in their bus lanes.^[282][283]

According to the fourth progress report of the German National Platform for Electric Mobility, only about 24,000 plug-in electric cars are on German roads by the end of November 2014, well behind the target of 100,000 unit goal set for 2014. As a result, Chancellor Angela Merkel recognized in December 2014 that the government has to provide more incentives to meet the goal of having 1 million electric cars on the country’s roads by 2020. Among others, the federal government is considering to offer a tax break for zero-emission company cars, more subsidies to expand charging infrastructure, particularly to deploy more public fast chargers, and more public funding for research and development of the next generation of rechargeable batteries.^[261][284]

Iceland

The group 2012 - New beginning in Iceland was planning to convert all vehicles in the country to electric by 2012, the first to do so.^[224][285] As of 2012 this has not happened.

During 2013 a total of 72 plug-in electric cars were sold in Iceland representing a 0.94% market share of new car sales during the year. The Nissan Leaf led sales with 29 units sold in 2013, followed by the Mitsubishi i-MiEV and Prius PHEV with 13 registrations each, Tesla Model S with 8, Chevrolet Volt 4, Citroen C-Zero 3 and Opel Ampera 2 units.^[286]

Hong Kong

As of October 2015, there were 3,253 electric vehicles on the roads in Hong Kong, up from less than 100 units in 2010, and there have been deployed more than 1,200 electric vehicle charging points available for public use.^[287] By the end of June 2015 there were about two electric cars per public charging stall.^[288] As of October 2015, the Transport Department (TD) had approved 49 EV models, including 34 all-electric cars and motorcycles, and 15 models for public transport and commercial vehicles. Popular passenger and light-duty van models available for retail sales include the BMW i3, BYD e6, Mitsubishi i-MiEV, Mitsubishi Minicab MiEV, Nissan Leaf, Nissan e-NV200, Renault Fluence Z.E., Renault Kangoo Z.E., Renault Zoe, Smart ED, Tesla Model S, Tesla Roadster, and Volkswagen e-Golf.^[287] During the first quarter of 2015 Hong Kong had world's third largest EV market share, with 2.3% of new vehicle registrations during this quarter. Only Norway and the Netherlands had a larger EV share.^[288]

The Government of Hong Kong has been promoting the use of electric vehicles through several measures. First Registration Tax for EVs is waived until the end of March 2017. In addition, enterprises which procure EVs are allowed 100% profits tax deduction for the capital expenditure on EVs in the first year of procurement. A HK$300 million Pilot Green Transport Fund was put in place since March 2011 for application by transport operators and non-profit-making organizations providing services to their clients and goods vehicle owners, encouraging them to try out innovative green and low carbon transport technologies (including EVs). The ultimate policy objective of the Government is to have zero emission buses running across the territory. To this end, the Government allocated HK$180 million for franchised bus companies to purchase 36 single-deck electric buses for trial runs to assess their operational efficiency and performance under the local conditions. The trial is expected to commence progressively by end of 2015.^[287]

Sales of electric cars took off in Hong Kong after the introduction of the Tesla Model S in July 2014,^[288][289] and one year later, the Model S is the top selling all-electric car in the territory with about 70% of the registered stock of EVs (about 1,720 units). Model S sales gained traction thanks to the tax waiver, which makes the Model S price very competitive in the luxury car segment, about half the price of other high-end models.^[288] According to Tesla, as of June 2015, Hong Kong has the world's highest density of Tesla superchargers, with eight stations comprising a total of 36 supercharger stalls. This infrastructure allows most Model S owners to have a supercharger within 20 minutes’ drive.^[290]

India

In India, Mahindra Reva e2o electric car was introduced on March 2013. It operates on lithium ion battery with 100 km range for 4 hours of charging. In addition to this, there are several other companies involved in making electric bikes like Hero and Ampere.

The Indian government admitted that it has not implemented schemes/policy initiatives to encourage the adoption of electric vehicles. This information was given on December 2, 2014 by Minister of State in the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises G. M. Siddeshwara in a written reply to Lok Sabha question. But the Minister also admitted that the scheme is only on paper and no policy initiative has been undertaken to encourage the adoption of electric vehicles in India. The Minister said in his reply that a Scheme for Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric and Hybrid Vehicles in India, under the National Electric Mobility Mission 2020 has been proposed. The scheme envisages to encourage progressive induction of reliable, affordable and efficient electric and hybrid vehicles (xEV) in the country that meet consumer performance and price expectations, through Government-Industry collaboration for promotion and development of indigenous manufacturing capabilities, required infrastructure, consumer awareness and technology; thereby helping India to emerge as a leader in the xEV Two Wheeler and Four Wheeler market in the world by 2020. The Mission aims at providing a clean transportation system to the people that is not dependent on gasoline based fossil fuel, he said.^[291]

As of December 2014, the plug-in electric car stock in India consists of 2,689 vehicles.^[7]

Israel

Israel was the first nation in the world that partnered with Better Place to have an electric car infrastructure.Shai Agassi, former CEO of Better Place claimed that in Israel by 2016, plus or minus a year, more than 50% of cars sold will be electric.^[294] Better place reached agreements with Renault-Nissan and the Israeli government to begin the first phases of the company’s efforts to deploy the world’s first integrated electric car network. Israel was considered a viable site for this innovative endeavor due to the country’s relatively small size and the fact that approximately 90% of the nation’s car owners drive less than 40 mi (60 km) a day.^[295] Israel enacted policies to create a tax differential between zero-emission vehicles and traditional cars, to accelerate the transition to electric cars.^[296]

Better Place designed an infrastructure consisting of 500,000 charging stations and almost 200 battery-exchange stations. In December 2008, Better Place revealed its first plug-in parking lot in Tel Aviv. Additionally, in May 2009, the company unveiled its patented battery swap system, which is designed for drivers taking longer road trips who lack the time needed to recharge their own battery.^[297] The first battery-swapping station in Israel, in Kiryat Ekron, near Rehovot, was deployed in March 2011. The station was the first of approximately 40 planned stations to begin operating in the near term. The battery exchange process took five minutes.^[298] The company also erected over 1,000 functional charging spots for the cars.^[298] Orders for the Renault Fluence ZE, the car selected for the Better Place network, began in July 2011.^[299]

The first deliveries of the Renault Fluence Z.E. took place on the 22nd of January 2012 and around 100 electric cars were allocated among Better Place employees.^[292][293] Retail customer deliveries began in the second quarter of 2012.^[300] As of mid September 2012, there were 21 operational battery-swap stations open to the public in Israel.^[301] In October 2012, Better Place signed a deal with Elco to supply 125 Renault Fluence ZEs through 2012 and 2013.^[302] As of December 2012, a total of 518 cars had been sold in the country,^[303] and during the first four months of 2013, 422 units were sold, bringing the total to 940.^[304]

Better Place filed for bankruptcy in Israel in May 2013. The company's financial difficulties were caused by the high investment required to develop the charging and swapping infrastructure, about US$850 million in private capital, and a market penetration significantly lower than originally predicted by Shai Agassi.^[305][306] Under Better Place's business model, the company owns the Fluence Z.E. batteries, so the court liquidator will have to decide what to do with customers who do not have ownership of the battery and risk being left with a useless car.^[307]

Ireland

In November 2008, the Department of Transport announced the Electric Transport Plan which calls for 10% of all vehicles to be electric by 2020. Government officials reached agreements with French car maker Renault and its Japanese partner Nissan to boost the use of electric cars. Eamon Ryan Ireland's former Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources repeatedly emphasised the importance of the electric car within the Irish context. The Electricity Supply Board has actively supported this call and sees electric vehicles as a key part of its strategy with regard to wind power in the Republic of Ireland. Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI) is currently looking at a number of pilot projects. More information on incentives was expected to come to light in the 2010 Irish Budget.

The Irish government has committed to getting enough electric passenger vehicles on the road by 2020 to account for 10% of all vehicles (a projected 230,000 electric vehicles).^[308] As of September 2014, plug-in electric car purchasers are eligible for a government credit worth up to €5,000 (about US$6,500). Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT), up to €5,000 is also waived for electric cars. Also, all-electric car owners pay the lowest rate of annual road tax, which is based on emissions. In addition, the first 2,000 electric cars registered in Ireland are eligible for installation of a free home-charging points worth about €1,000 (about US$1,300).^[309] Sales of all-electric cars in Ireland increased more than four times in 2014, with 222 units sold, up from 51 sold in 2013.^[310] The number of electric cars owned by individuals totaled about 500 by mid-2014.^[309]

Japan

As of December 2015, the stock of light-duty plug-in electric vehicles in Japan is the third largest in the world after the United States and China, with about 130,000 highway legal plug-in electric vehicles sold in the country since 2009.^[6][7] During 2012, global sales of pure electric cars were led by Japan with a 28% market share of total sales, followed by the United States with a 26% share. Japan ranked second after the U.S. in terms of its share of plug-in hybrid sales in 2012, with a 12% of global sales.^[234] A total of 30.587 highway-capable plug-in electric vehicles were sold in Japan in 2013.^[21] In 2014 the segment sales remained flat with 30,390 units sold, and a market share of 1.06% of total new car sales in the country (kei cars not included).^[21]

The Japanese electric vehicle charging infrastructure climbed from only 60 public charging stations in early 2010,^[312] to 1,381 public quick-charge stations as of December 2012, representing the largest deployment of fast chargers in the world. The number of non-domestic slow charger points increased to around 300 units.^[234] Japan also is the country with the highest ratio of quick charging points to electric vehicles (EVSE/EV), with a ratio of 0.030 as of December 2012. The Japanese government has set up a target to deploy 2 million slow chargers and 5,000 fast charging points by 2020.^[234]

Introduction and sales

The first electric car available in the Japanese market was the Mitsubishi i MiEV, launched for fleet customers in Japan in late July 2009.^[312][313] Retail sales to the public began in April 2010.^{[314][315][316]} Cumulative sales since July 2009 reached 10,423 i-MiEVs through December 2014.^[317][318] Sales of the Mitsubishi Minicab MiEV electric van began in December 2011, and a total of 5,560 units have been sold through December 2014.^[318] A truck version of the Minicab MiEV was launched in January 2013,^[319] with sales of 731 units through December 2014.^[318] Mitsubishi also launched in January 2013 a plug-in hybrid version of the Outlander, called the Mitsubishi Outlander P-HEV, becoming the first SUV plug-in hybrid in the world's market.^[320] The Outlander P-HEV sold 9,608 units during 2013, ranking as the second top selling plug-in electric car in Japan after the Nissan Leaf.^[321][322] Again in 2014, the Outlander plug-in hybrid ranked as the second best selling plug-in car in Japan, with 10,064 units sold.^[318][323] Sales of the Outlander P-HEV totaled 19,674 units through December 2014.^[318] As of December 2014, Mitsubishi has sold 36,386 light-duty plug-in electric vehicles in Japan since July 2009.^[317][318]

Sales of the Nissan Leaf began on December 22, 2010, when the first 10 Leaf were delivered at the Kanagawa Prefecture.^[324][325] Sales of the Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid began in January 2012, and a total of 19,100 units have been sold through September 2014.^[326] The Honda Accord Plug-in Hybrid is available in Japan, and as of December 2013, ranks as the third best selling plug-in hybrid in the domestic market.^[327] Retail deliveries of the Tesla Model S began in Japan in September 2014.^[328]

Sales of the plug-in electric drive segment in 2013 were led by the Nissan Leaf with 13,021 units sold, up from 11,115 in 2012.^[329] The Leaf continued as the market leader in 2014 with 14,177 units sold, followed by the Outlander P-HEV with 10,064 units, together representing about 80% of the plug-in segment sales in Japan in 2014.^{[318][323][330]} As of June 2015, the Leaf continued as the top selling plug-in electric car in the country since 2011, with about 53,500 Leafs sold since December 2010.^[311]

The following table presents sales for the top selling highway-capable plug-in electric vehicles since July 2009 through December 2014, totaling sales of over 104,500 plug-in electric vehicles, of which about 63% are all-electric vehicles.^{[317][318][326][331][332]}

Top selling highway-capable plug-in electric vehicles available in the Japanese market between 2009 and 2014
Model	Type of PEV	Market launch	Sales	Comments
Nissan Leaf	Electric car	December 2010	48,641	Sales through December 2014.[331]
Mitsubishi Outlander P-HEV	Plug-in hybrid SUV	January 2013	19,672	Sales through December 2014.[318]
Toyota Prius PHV	Plug-in hybrid	January 2012	19,100	Sales through September 2014.[326]
Mitsubishi i-MiEV	Electric car	July 2009	10,423	Sales through December 2014.[317][318]
Mitsubishi Minicab MiEV	All-electric van	December 2011	5,560	Sales through December 2014.[318]
Mitsubishi Minicab MiEV truck	All-electric truck	January 2013	731	Sales through December 2014.[318]
BMW i3	Electric car	2014	+ 400	Sales between April and August 2014.[332]
Note: The Nissan e-NV200, Tesla Model S and Honda Accord Plug-in Hybrid are also available in Japan, but sales figures are not available.

Government incentives

In May 2009 the Japanese Diet passed the "Green Vehicle Purchasing Promotion Measure" that went into effect on June 19, 2009, but retroactive to April 10, 2009.^[333] The program established tax deductions and exemptions for environmentally friendly and fuel efficient vehicles, according to a set of stipulated environmental performance criteria, and the requirements are applied equally to both foreign and domestically produced vehicles. The program provided purchasing subsidies for two type of cases, consumers purchasing a new passenger car without trade-in (non-replacement program), and for those consumers buying a new car trading a used car registered 13 years ago or earlier (scrappage program).^[333][334]

Subsidies for purchases of new environmentally friendly vehicles without scrapping a used car are 100,000 yen (~US$1,100) for the purchase of a standard or small car, and 50,000 yen (~US$550) for the purchase of a mini or kei vehicle. Subsidies for purchasing trucks and buses meeting the stipulated fuel efficiency and emission criteria vary between 200,000 yen (~US$2,100) to 900,000 yen (~US$9,600).^{[333][335][336]}

Subsidies for purchases of new environmentally friendly vehicles in the case of owners scrapping a vehicle at least 13 years old are 250,000 yen (~US$2,700) for the purchase of a standard or small car, and 125,000 yen (~US$1,300) for the purchase of a mini or kei vehicle. Subsidies for purchasing trucks and buses meeting the stipulated fuel efficiency and emission criteria vary between 400,000 yen (~US$4,300) to 1,800,000 yen (~US$19,000).^{[333][335][336]}

All incentives for new purchases with or without trading were applicable in Japan's fiscal year 2009, from April 1, 2009 through March 31, 2010.^[335][336]

Mexico

In October 2009 Nissan reached an agreement with the local government of Mexico City, by which 500 Leafs would be delivered by 2011 for use of government and corporate fleets. In exchange, recharging infrastructure was to be deployed by the city government, and an exemption from the ownership tax is being pursued.^[337][338] The city government of Mexico D.F. also reached an agreement with Nissan in November 2010 in order for the first 100 Leafs to be introduced in the country to operate as part of the capital's taxi fleet.^[339][340] The first Leafs destined for the taxi fleet were delivered by late September 2011,^[341][342] allowing the country to become the first Latin American market where the Leaf is available.^[343]

As of February 2013, there were in the country about 70 Leafs deployed as taxis, 50 in Aguascalientes and 20 in Mexico City.^[344] The Aguascalientes program began in May 2012, and its implementation included the deployment of a garage with 58 charging points, the largest of its kind in the world.^[345] Carrot Mexico, a carsharing company operating in Mexico City, acquired 3 Leafs which are available to their 1,600 customers.^[346] As of October 2012, there were no government fiscal incentives available to lower the purchase price of electric cars, neither preferential electricity rates for electric car owners. However, electric cars are exempted from the driving restriction scheme implemented by plate number to restrict access to Mexico City to improve its air quality.^[345]

Retail sales of the Nissan Leaf began in June 2014, with availability initially limited to Mexico City.^[347] Deliveries to retail customers began in August 2014.^[348] The BMW i3 and i8 are also available in the country. Retail deliveries of the i3 began in Mexico City in late September 2014.^[349][350]

The second generation Volt was released for retail customers in December 2015. Pricing starts at 638,000 pesos (~US$36,880), and it is available in Mexico City, Monterrey, Guadalajara, Querétaro, and Puebla.^[351] Also in December 2015, retail sales of the Tesla Model S began in Mexico City. Initially, no Supercharger stations are available in the country.^[352]

Netherlands

As of December 2015, the Netherlands has Europe's largest fleet light-duty plug-in vehicles and has the world's fourth largest stock after the U.S., China and Japan. The Netherlands was the world's third best-selling country market for light-duty plug-in vehicles in 2015.^[6] As of December 2015, a total of 88,991 highway legal plug-in electric vehicles were registered in the Netherlands, consisting of 78,163 range-extended and plug-in hybrids, 9,368 pure electric cars, and 1,460 all-electric light utility vans. When buses, trucks, motorcycles, quadricycles and tricycles are accounted for, the Dutch plug-in electric-drive fleet climbs to 90,275 units.^[355] The country's electric vehicle stock reaches 122,563 units when mopeds (3,610), electric bicycles (28,459), and microcars (219) are accounted for.^[355]

The Netherlands is among the country's with the highest EV market penetration in the world. Registrations of plug-in electric car represented a 0.57% share of total new car registrations in the country during 2011 and 2012.^[356] During 2013 plug-in electric passenger car registrations totaled 22,415 units, climbing 338% from 2012, the highest rate of growth of any country in the world in 2013.^[10][354] The segment market share in 2013 surged almost ten times from 2012 to 5.34% new car sales in the country during that year,^[357] the world's second highest in 2013 after Norway (5.6%).^[10] The rapid growth of segment during 2013, allowed the Netherlands to reach a market penetration for plug-in vehicles of around 1.71 vehicles per 1,000 people, second only to Norway (4.04).^[10] After falling to 3.9% in 2014, with 43,769 plug-in passenger cars registered in 2015, the segment market share rose to a record 9.7% of new car sales in the Dutch market in 2015, the second highest after Norway (22.4%).^[6][358]

In November 2013, a total of 2,736 Mitsubishi Outlander P-HEVs were sold, making the plug-in hybrid the top selling new car in the country that month, representing a market share of 6.8% of all the new cars sold.^[359][360] Again in December 2013, the Outlander P-HEV ranked as the top selling new car in the country with 4,976 units, representing a 12.6% market share of new car sales, contributing to a world record plug-in vehicle market share of 23.8% of new car sales.^[361][362] The Netherlands is the second country, after Norway, where plug-in electric cars have topped the monthly ranking of new car sales.^{[359][360][362]} The strong increase of plug-in car sales during the last months of 2013 was due to the end of the total exemption of the registration fee for corporate cars, which is valid for 5 years. From January 1, 2014, all-electric vehicles pay a 4% registration fee and plug-in hybrids a 7% fee.^[363] After the change in the registration fees, sales in 2014 fell significantly .^[364] Sales in 2014 were led by the Outlander P-HEV with 7,666 units,^[365][366]

The top 5 best-selling plug-in electric cars in 2015 were all plug-in hybrids, led by the Mitsubishi Outlander P-HEV (8,757), followed by the Volkswagen Golf GTE (8,183), Audi A3 e-tron (4,354), Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid (3,851), and Volkswagen Passat GTE (2,879). The top selling all-electric car was the Tesla Model S (1,842).^[367] Plug-in car sales achieved its best monthly volume on record ever in December 2015, with about 15,900 units sold, and allowing the segment to reached a record market share of about 23%. The surge in plug-in car sales was due to reduction of the registration fees for plug-in hybrids. From January 1, 2016, all-electric vehicles continue to pay a 4% registration fee, but for a plug-in hybrid the fee rises from 7% to 15% if its CO₂ emissions do not exceed 50 g/km. The rate for a conventional internal combustion car is 25% of its book value.^[368][369]

As of December 2015, the Mitsubishi Outlander P-HEV continues as the all-time top-selling plug-in car in the country with 24,506 registered. Ranking second is the Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid (14,470), followed by the Volkswagen Golf GTE (8,806), Opel Ampera (4,947 units), Tesla Model S (4,832), and Audi A3 e-tron (4,657).^[370] A total of 78,163 plug-in hybrids out of 87,531 passenger plug-in electric vehicles were registered in the Netherlands as of 31 December 2015, meaning that plug-in hybrids dominate the Dutch market with a share of 89.3% of the country's highway legal plug-in electric car stock.^[355][370]

The following table presents registrations by year for the top selling plug-in electric cars by year since 2009 through June 2014.

Registration of Top 10 plug-in electric cars by model in the Netherlands between 2009 and June 2014[354][371][372][373][374][375][376]
Model	Total registrations[372] 2009-2014(1)	Market share 2009-2014(1)	2Q 2014	2013	2012	2011	2010	2009
Mitsubishi Outlander P-HEV	13,129	35.2%	5,090	8,038
Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid	8,231	22.1%	1,948	6,260	23
Opel Ampera	4,942[372]	13.2%	9	2,218	2,696	8
Toyota Prius PHV	3,923	10.5%	32	2,707	1,184
Tesla Model S	1,761[372]	4.7%	568	1,192
Nissan Leaf[375][376]	1,280	3.4%	259	462	265	294
Chevrolet Volt	1,060[372]	2.8%	0	745	306	7
Renault Zoe	649[372]	1.7%	85	547
Volkswagen e-Up![377][378]	618	1.7%	30	588
BMW i3[376]	582	1.6%	330	252
Total annual registrations (plug-in hybrids and all-electric passenger cars)(2)			8,540	23,285	5,116	819	81	28
Cumulative PEVs registrations (plug-in passenger cars and utility vans)			38,048 [372]	29,342[354]	6,258[354]	1,141[354]	395[379]	68[380]
Notes: (1) CYTD through June 2014. Market share as percentage of the 37,307 plug-in electric vehicles registered in the Netherlands at the end of June 2014, consisting of all-electric cars and plug-in hybrids (all-electric utility vans not included).[372] (2) Total sales for models shown in this table.

Government incentives

Considering the potential of plug-in electric vehicles in the country, the Dutch government set s target of 15,000 electric vehicles on the roads in 2015, 200,000 vehicles in 2020 and 1 million vehicles in 2025.^[354][381] Instead of direct purchase subsidies for electric vehicles in the Netherlands, the government established total exemption of the registration fee and road taxes, which translated in savings of approximately €5,324 for private car owners over four years,^[382][383] and €19,000 for corporate owners over five years.^[384] Other vehicles including hybrid electric vehicles were also exempt from these taxes if they emit less than 95 g/km for diesel-powered vehicles, or less than 110 g/km for gasoline-powered vehicles.^[382] The exemption from the registration tax ended, and from January 1, 2014, all-electric vehicles pay a 4% registration fee and plug-in hybrids a 7% fee.^[363]

Buyers also have access to parking spaces in Amsterdam reserved for battery electric vehicles, so they avoid the current wait for a parking place in Amsterdam, which can reach up to 10 years in some parts of the city.^[385] Free charging is also offered in public parking spaces.^[386] Other factors contributing to the rapid adoption of plug-in electric vehicles are the relative small size of the country, which reduces range anxiety (the Netherlands stretches about 100 mi (160 km) east to west); a long tradition of environmental activism; high gasoline prices (US$8.50 per gallon as of January 2013), which make the cost of running a car on electricity five times cheaper; and also some EV leasing programs provide free or discounted gasoline-powered vehicles for those who want to take a vacation driving long distances. With all of these incentives and tax breaks, plug-in electric cars have similar driving costs than conventional cars.^[386] Initially, sales of plug-in electric car were lower than expected, and during 2012 the segment captured a market share of less than 1% of new car sales in the country.^[386] As a result of the end of the total exemption of the registration fee, the segment sales peak at the end of 2013,^[387] and plug-in electric car sales reached a market share of 5.34% of new car sales in 2013.^[357]

New Zealand

As of September 2015, there were 769 electric vehicles (including 419 plug-in hybrid vehicles) registered in the country. Approximately 45 of those vehicles were manufactured prior to 2005 and some of these are conventional vehicles converted to electric.^[388] The number of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles in the fleet started increasing from 2009 as models such as the Mitsubishi i-MiEV were released to the market, and accelerated from 2015 as imported second-hand Japanese Nissan Leafs provided a cheaper purchase method. The total of number of vehicles in New Zealand has changed as follows: 2009: 31; 2010: 40; 2011: 51; 2012: 76; 2013: 110; 2014: 435; 2015 (as at 30 September): 769. New Zealand has a single, minor government subsidy for electric vehicles; an exemption from paying road user charges between 2009 and 2020.^[389]

Registrations of electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles by model in New Zealand[388]
Model	Total in fleet as at 30 June 2015	2015 CYTD	2014	2013	2012	2011
Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV	265	67	197	1	-	-
Nissan Leaf	227	91	100	24	11	1
BMW i	42	33	9	-	-	-
Mitsubishi i-MiEV	34	1	1	6	6	12
Holden Volt	26	5	10	5	6	-
Audi A3 e-tron	23	23	-	-	-	-
Tesla S	6	4	2	-	-	-
Porsche Cayenne S E-Hybrid	5	5	-	-	-	-
Others	67	0	6	1	7	4
Total	695	229	325	37	30	17
Note: CYTD sales through 30 June 2015. The second column of the table denotes the total number of vehicles in the fleet (including the break-down by model), but all other columns denote registrations during that period. Data for years 2013 and prior is based on data provided directly by the New Zealand Ministry of Transport (not available in a public document). All data includes vehicles registered in New Zealand that have been imported as "new" and as "used" vehicles (the majority of used imports originates in Japan). For example, a significant share of Nissan Leafs registered in NZ has been imported "used" from Japan.

Norway

As of December 2015, a total of 77,897 new plug-in electric vehicles have been registered in Norway.^[6] As of September 2015, the country plug-in electric fleet, which includes used imports, totaled 74,282 plug-in electric vehicles, consisting of 66,276 all-electric passenger and light-duty vehicles, and 8,006 plug-in hybrids.^[391] The milestone of 50,000 electric cars on Norwegian roads was reached by late April 2015.^[392][393] As of December 2015, plug-in car registrations include over 10,000 used imports from neighboring countries, mainly of pure electric cars. Registrations of used all-electric cars totaled 2,086 units in 2013, 3,063 in 2014 and 5,122 in 2015.^[390][33] In addition, about 1,300 used electric cars were imported into Norway before 2013.^[394] Out of the total all-electric stock, over 1,400 units are quadricycles, such as the Kewet/Buddy and the REVAi.^[52] Norway's fleet of electric cars is one of the cleanest in the world because almost 100% of the electricity generated in the country comes from hydropower.^[395]

In March 2014, Norway became the first country where over one in every 100 registered passenger cars is plug-in electric,^[12] and the segment's market penetration reached 2% in March 2015.^[396] Norway is the country with the largest EV ownership per capita in the world, with Oslo recognized as the EV capital of the world.^{[397][398][399]} Norway reached in 2013 a market penetration of four plug-in electric vehicles per 1,000 people in 2013, nine times higher than the U.S., the world's largest plug-in electric car market.^[10] The Norwegian plug-in electric vehicle market share of new car sales is the highest in the world, the EV segment share rose from 1.6% in 2011, to 3.1% in 2012,^[400] and reached 5.6% of new car sales in 2013.^[11] Only the Netherlands, with 5.34% in 2013, has achieved a similar market share for the plug-in electric drive segment.^[357] The Norwegian all-electric segment increased its market share of new car sales to 12.5% in 2014.^[401] During the first quarter of 2015 the all-electric market share rose to 20.4%, while the plug-in hybrid segment reached 2.5%, for a combined PEV market share of almost 23% of all passenger cars sold during this period.^[402]

Also, Norway was the first country in the world to have electric cars topping the new car sales monthly ranking. The Tesla Model S has been the top selling new car three times, twice in 2013, first in September and again in December,^[403][404] and one more time in March 2014.^[405] The Nissan Leaf has topped the monthly new car sales ranking twice, first in October 2013 and again in January 2014.^{[406][407][408]} Both the Nissan Leaf and the Tesla Model S were listed among the Norwegian top 20 best selling new cars in 2013, with the Leaf ranking third with 4,604 units and a 3.2% market share; and the Model S ranking 20th with a 1.4% market share of new car sales in 2013.^[409] In March 2014 the Tesla Model S also broke the 28-year-old record for monthly sales of a single model regardless of its power source, with 1,493 units sold, surpassing the Ford Sierra, which sold 1,454 units in May 1986.^[405][410]

Government incentives

The Parliament of Norway set the goal to reach 50,000 zero emission vehicles by 2018. Among the existing incentives, all-electric cars are exempt in Norway from all non-recurring vehicle fees, including purchase taxes, which are extremely high for ordinary cars, and 25% VAT on purchase, together making electric car purchase price competitive with conventional cars.^[411] As an example, by early 2013 the price of the top selling Nissan Leaf is 240,690 krone (around US$42,500) while the purchase price of the 1.3-lt Volkswagen Golf is 238,000 Krone (about US$42,000).^[395] Pure electric vehicles are also exempt from the annual road tax, all public parking fees, and toll payments (including domestic ferries), as well as being able to use bus lanes. These incentives are in effect until the end of 2017 or until the goal of 50,000 all-electric cars registered in the country is achieved.^[398]

The target of 50,000 electric cars on Norwegian roads was reached on 20 April 2015, more than two years earlier than expected. The milestone was commemorated by the Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association in Drammen where the 50,000th electric car registered, a Tesla Model S, was granted the license plate "EL 60000." The special electric vehicle series began with "EL 10000." By reaching a stock of 50,000 electric cars, the market penetration of pure electric vehicles reached 2% of all passenger cars registered in Norway.^[392][393] Since early March 2015 negotiations began among parties represented in the Parliament to define the future of all motor vehicles and fuel taxes. The Liberal Party wants the benefits to continue beyond the established quota. The Ministry of Finance is also making a comprehensive review of all motor vehicle taxes. Negotiations are expected to be concluded in May, and any review on the benefits for EVs are expected to be presented together with the revised state budget on 19 May 2015. The two purchase tax exemptions cost the government about 3 billion krone (around US$480 million) in lost revenue just in 2014, and up to 4 billion krone (around US$640 million) if all the other benefits are accounted for.^[412] Despite passing the established cap of 50,000 electric cars, the tax benefits are expected to continue until the end of 2016.^[413][414]

Sales of plug-in hybrids have had a much smaller market penetration than pure electric car sales. Until June 2013, plug-in hybrids were not eligible for the same tax exemptions and other government incentives enacted for electric cars. In addition, PHEVs had been more expensive than equivalent gasoline and diesel-powered cars because they paid a higher weight tax due to the additional weight of the battery pack and the accompanying electric components.^{[411][415][416]} Because the Norwegian tax system levies higher taxes to heavier vehicles, plug-in hybrids were more expensive than similar conventional cars due to the extra weight of the battery pack and its additional electric components. However, in June 2013 the government approved a tax reduction for plug-in hybrids effective on July 1, 2013, that is expected to improve PHEV sales as the existing weight allowance for conventional hybrids and plug-in hybrids of 10% was increased to 15% for PHEVs.^[416][417]

Sales

Plug-in electric vehicle registrations totaled 10,769 units in 2013, of which used imports represented 20%. This total includes 387 plug-in hybrids and 355 all-electric light commercial vans, together representing 6.9% of total 2013 registrations, and reflecting the continued dominance of pure electric vehicles in the Norwegian market.^[11] The plug-in electric drive segment in Norway grew 129% from 2012 to 2013, achieving one of the highest EV rates of growth in the world, second only to the Netherlands (338%).^[10]

A total of 23,390 plug-in electric vehicles were registered in Norway in 2014, consisting of 18,094 new all-electric cars, 3,063 used imported all-electric cars, 1,678 new plug-in hybrid cars and 555 new all-electric vans.^[33] Combined sales of new and used plug-in electric vehicles captured a 13.84% market share of total passenger car registrations in 2014.^[21] Sales of the new all-electric car segment reached a market share of 12.5%.^[401] New all-electric passenger car registrations were up 129.5% from 2013, and the plug-in hybrid segment grew 411.6% from a year earlier.^[33] Norway ended 2014 as the top selling European country in the light-duty all-electric market segment, with 18,649 passenger cars and utility vans registered, surpassing France (15,046), Germany (8,804) and the UK (7,730).^[418] Norway accounted for a third of all European all-electric car sales in 2014.^[419]

During 2013, the Leaf continued as the top selling plug-in electric car, with 4,604 new units sold during the year, which represent 58.4% of plug-in electric car sales in 2013. The Tesla Model S ranked second with 1,986 units (25.2% share), followed by the Volkswagen e-Up! with 580 units (7.4% share).^[420] Since September 2011, a total of 7,275 new Leaf cars have been sold in the country through December 2013.^[420][421] Accounting for used Leafs imported from neighboring countries, of which, 1,608 units were registered during 2013, a total of 9,080 Leafs had been registered in Norway through December 2013,^[422] representing 9.4% of the 96,847 Leafs sold globally through December 2013.^[423]

Retail deliveries of the Tesla Model S began in August 2013,^[424] with 186 units delivered to retail customers.^[425][426] During its first full month in the market, the Model S was the top selling car in Norway during September 2013 with 616 units delivered, representing a market share of 5.1% of all the new cars sold in the country, and becoming the first electric car to top the new car sales ranking in any country ever.^{[403][427][428]} In October 2013, and for a second month in a row, an electric car, the Nissan Leaf, was the best selling car in the country. The Leaf sold 716 units, representing a 5.6% of new car sales that month.^[406][407] In December 2013 the Model S, with 553 units sold and a 4.9% market share, was the top selling new car in the country for the second time in the year.^[404] As of 31 December 2013, a total of 1,986 new Model S cars have been sold,^[420] allowing Norway to become the Model S largest overseas market.^[429]

In January 2014, the Leaf topped for a second time the ranking of top selling new cars in Norway, with 650 units sold, representing a 5.7% of new car sales that month.^[408] The Model S topped the monthly sales ranking for a third time in March 2014, with 1,493 units sold, capturing a 10.8% market share of new car sales that month, and contributing to a record market share for the all-electric car segment of 20.3% of total new car sales.^{[12][405][430]} A total of 2,056 Model S cars were sold during the first quarter of 2014, making the Model S the best selling new car in Norway during 2014 (CYTD), capturing a 5.6% market share of new car sales, and 38.8% of the new plug-in electric car segment during this period.^{[12][405][430]} A new record market share of the plug-in electric vehicle segment was achieved in January, with 1,895 new all-electric cars registered reaching an 18.0% market share, plus 326 new plug-in hybrids reaching a 3.1% share, for a combined market share of 21.1% of total new car registrations that month.^[431][432]

Plug-in electric car sales in 2014 were led by the Nissan Leaf with 4,781 new registrations, followed by Tesla Model S with 4,040 units. As of December 2014, a total of 12,056 new Leafs had been sold in the country.^{[33][420][421]} In addition, there were 3,626 used imported Leafs registered in the country as of 30 September 2014.^[422] With about 16,000 units registered including used imports, the Leaf ranks as the country's all-time top selling electric car, representing 39% of the country's all-electric registered fleet.^[422] The Tesla Model S, released in August 2013, ranks second with cumulative sales of 6,023 new units up until December 2014,^[33][420] with about 14% of the total registered plug-in electric vehicle stock.^[422]

Record registrations and the highest monthly market share ever were registered in March 2015, with 3,391 new all-electric cars sold that month representing 23.4% of new car sales, and 357 plug-in hybrids representing a market share of 2.52% that month, together reaching a combined PEV market share of 26.4%.^[402][434] March sales set another record, as three all-electric cars ranked as the top 3 selling new cars in the country, the Tesla Model S with 1,140 units, the Volkswagen e-Golf with 956 (out of a total of 1,421 units sold by the Golf nameplate), and the Nissan Leaf with 526.^{[402][435][436]} During first quarter of 2015 the all-electric market share rose to 20.4%, up from 14.5% the previous year, while the plug-in hybrid segment reached 2.5%, for a combined PEV market share of almost 23% of all passenger cars sold during this period. The top selling all-electric cars during the quarter were the Volkswagen e-Golf (2,672), Tesla Model S (1,532), Nissan Leaf (1,082) and the Volkswagen e-Up! (1,082). The top selling plug-in hybrids were the Audi A3 e-tron (369), Mitsubishi Outlander P-HEV (356), and the Volvo V60 PHEV (123).^[402]

The VW e-Golf, with 8,943 units sold, was the best-selling plug-in electric car in Norway in 2015, representing 34.7% of the plug-in segment sales, ahead of the Tesla Model S (4,039) and the Nissan Leaf (3,189).^[437] The e-Golf variant represented 54.6% of total new VW Golf nameplate sales in the country in 2015.^[438] As of December 2015, the Nissan Leaf continued as the all-time best selling plug-in electric car in the country with a total of 15,245 new Leafs registered since 2011.^{[33][420][421][438]} In addition, a significant number of used imported Leafs from neighboring countries have been registered in the country, raising the stock of registered Leafs to over 20,000 units, meaning that more than 10% of Leafs sold in the world are on Norwegian roads by December 2015.^[433]

The following table presents registrations of the top selling plug-in electric cars and utility vans by model per year since 2008 through March 2014. Figures for the total number of registered by year accounts for PEVs registered since the late 1990s through March 2014.

Registration of top selling plug-in electric vehicles by model in Norway between 2008 and March 2014[11][12][400][405][420][422][439][440]
Model	Total registrations(1)	Market share(2)	1 Q 2014	2013	2012	2011	2010	2009	2008
Nissan Leaf	11,139	41.4%	2,059	6,212	2,487	381
Tesla Model S	4,043	15.0%	2,057	1,986
Mitsubishi i-MiEV	2,322	8.6%	146	455	671	1,050
Volkswagen e-Up!	1,299	4.8%	719	580
Th!nk City	1,121	4.2%		12	22	133	331	93	183
Peugeot iOn	1,107	4.1%	23	425	442	217
Citroën C-Zero	1,104	4.1%	123	214	557	210
Kewet/Buddy	1,013	3.8%		15	24	125	233	161	209
BMW i3	697	3.5%	646	51
Mitsubishi Outlander P-HEV	439	1.6%	439
Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid	371	1.4%	16	184	171
REVAi	299	1.1%					NA	NA	NA
Opel Ampera	247	0.9%	12	94	141
Total registered[12] (as of March 2014)	26,886	94.6%	6,517	10,769	4,700	2,243	733	454	567
Notes: (1) Total registrations include new car sales and used imports from neighboring countries. (2) Market share as percentage of the 26,886 plug-in electric vehicles registered in Norway as of March 2014, including new plug-in electric car sales, used imports, plug-in hybrids, quadricycles and utility vans.

Poland

Poland is developing charging station infrastructure in Gdańsk, Katowice, Kraków, Mielec and Warsaw. Funds for the project come from the European Union. The biggest organization in Poland in the area of electric vehicles is Klaster Green Stream.^[442]
The Polish company 3xE - samochody elektryczne (3xE - electric cars) offer electric vehicle conversions of small city cars such as the Smart ForTwo, Citroën C1, Fiat Panda, Peugeot 107, Audi A2. The converted cars have a range of about 100 km (60 mi), using lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO
4) batteries and brushless DC electric motors, and the conversion can cost less than €12,000.^[443]

Philippines

The first electric car in the country was launched at Silliman University by Insular Technologies in August 2007.^[444][445] In some major urban cities in the Philippines like Makati, E-Jeepneys or Electric Jeepneys are used as well as Electrical Tricycles (Rickshaws). Eagle G-Car a Philippine all-electric car was made available for purchase in the Philippines as low as $3,000-$6,000), the car is made out of fiber glass.^[446] While E-Jeepneys are expected to be available in many other cities in the Philippines and hope to be revolutionize and made into an icon of the Philippines, it is a venture of Renewable Independent Power Producer Inc., which sprang from Greenpeace and other groups, and Solarco, which in turn is a part of GRIPP.^[447]

Portugal

Portugal reached agreements with French car maker Renault and its Japanese partner Nissan to boost the use of electric cars by creating a national recharging network. The aim was to make Portugal one of the first countries to offer drivers nationwide charging stations.^[448] As of May 2010, there are only about a dozen recharging stations in the country, but the government expects to deploy 320 before the end of 2010 and 1,300 by the end of 2011.^[449] The government established a subsidy of €5,000 for the first 5,000 new electric cars sold in the country. In addition, there was a €1,500 incentive if the consumer turned in a used car at least 10 years old as part of the down payment for the new electric car.^[449] Electric cars were also exempt from the registration tax.^[94] These incentives were discontinued at the end of 2011 due to the financial crisis of the country.^[450]

On December 22, 2010, Nissan delivered in Lisbon the first nine Leafs to its commercial customer the MOBI.E consortium, and another unit to the Portuguese government as a loan for trial purposes. Deliveries for individual customers began in early 2011.^[451][452] Since 2010 a total of 283 electric cars and utility vans have been sold in the country through October 2012, with the Nissan Leaf as the best selling EV with 121 units.^[453] Sales decreased significantly during 2012, with only 44 units sold between January and July due to the end of fiscal incentives.^[454]

South Africa

GridCars is a Pretoria based company promoting Commuter Cars, their launch vehicle is based on the TREV from Australia. The concept behind the electric car is to build ultra-light EVs, placing less demand on battery requirements, and making the vehicle more affordable.^[455] The Joule, designed by Cape Town-based Optimal Energy,^[456] made its debut at the 2008 Paris Motor Show, has a maximum driving range of 300 km (190 mi). The Juoule accommodates two large-cell lithium ion battery packs.^[457]

The first series production electric car available for retail sales in the country was the Nissan Leaf, introduced in October 2013. BMW South Africa has plans to introduce the BMW i3 and BMW i8. The country does not have government incentives or subsidies to promote electric cars.^[458]

South Korea

All electric cars sold in South Korea are domestically manufactured by local brands.

Registration of highway-capable plug-in electric cars by model in South Korea between 2012 and 2013[459]
Model	Total Sales 2012–2013	Sales 2013	Sales 2012
Kia Ray EV	929	398	531
Samsung SM3 Z.E.	294	277	17
Chevrolet Spark EV	40	40
Total registrations	1,263	715	548

Spain

In May 2011 the Spanish government approved a €72 million (US$103 million) fund for year 2011 to promote electric vehicles. The incentives include direct subsidies for the acquisition of new electric cars for up to 25% of the purchase price, before tax, to a maximum of €6,000 per vehicle (US$8,600), and 25% of the gross purchase price of other electric vehicles such as buses and vans, with a maximum of €15,000 or €30,000, depending on the range and type of vehicle.^[464] Several regional government grant incentives for the purchase of alternative fuel vehicles including electric and hybrid vehicles. In Aragón, Asturias, Baleares, Madrid, Navarra, Valencia, Castilla-La Mancha, Murcia, Castilla y León electric vehicles are eligible to a €6,000 tax incentive and hybrids to €2,000.^[94]

Retail sales of the Mitsubishi i-MiEV began in December 2010 .^[465][466] A total of 233 i-MiEV family electric cars were sold during 2011, representing 58% of all electric vehicles sold in Spain that year.^[467] The Nissan Leaf was released in Barcelona in September 2011, followed by Madrid in October 2011.^[468][469] A total of 137 Leafs were sold through September 2012.^[467][470]

A total of 401 electric cars and utility vehicles were sold in Spain during 2011, led by the Peugeot iOn with 125 units, followed by 85 Citroën C-Zeros and 59 Nissan Leafs.^[471] During the first half of 2012 a total of 209 electric cars were sold, representing a market share of 0.05% of new car sales.^[472] During 2012 plug-in electric car sales totaled 484 units and 176 electric utility vans were sold, for a total of 660 highway-capable plug-in vehicles registered in 2012. In addition, 943 Renault Twizy quadricycles were sold in the country, making the Twizy the top selling plug-in electric vehicle, followed by the Renault Kangoo Z.E. with 176 units, and the Nissan Leaf with 154 units.^[473] The market penetration of highway-capable plug-in electric cars climbed in 2014 to 0.16% of total new car sales in the country, up from 0.05% in 2011.^[474][475]

Sweden

As of December 2014, a total of 8,076 plug-in electric vehicles have been registered in Sweden since 2011, consisting of 7,311 plug-in cars and 765 all-electric utility vans.^{[24][49][50][476]} As of November 2014, the top selling plug-in electric car is the Mitsubishi Outlander P-HEV with 2,385 units registered, followed by the Volvo V60 PHEV with 1,388 units and the Toyota Prius PHV with 1,085. Plug-in hybrids represent 71% of the Swedish plug-in electric car registered stock.^[24][476] The top selling all-electric car is the Nissan Leaf with 884 units registered.^[24][476] The Renault Kangoo Z.E. is the leader in the plug-in commercial utility segment with 718 units sold through December 2014.^[24][476] The market share of plug-in electric vehicles climbed from 0.57% in 2013 to 1.53% of new car sales in the country in 2014.^[24][49] During 2014 registrations of new super clean cars were up 201% from 2013, while registrations of new passenger cars increased 12.7%.^[24]

Government incentives

In September 2011 the Swedish government approved a 200 million kr program, effective starting in January 2012, to provide a subsidy of 40,000 kr per car for the purchase of 5,000 electric cars and other "super green cars" with ultra-low carbon emissions, defined as those with emissions below 50 grams of carbon dioxide (CO₂) per km.^[477] There is also an exemption from the annual circulation tax for the first five years from the date of their first registration that benefits owners of electric vehicles with an energy consumption of 37 kWh per 100 km or less, and hybrid vehicles with CO₂ emissions of 120 g/km or less. In addition, for both electric and hybrid vehicles, the taxable value of the car for the purposes of calculating the benefit in kind of a company car under personal income tax is reduced by 40% compared with the corresponding or comparable gasoline or diesel-powered car. The reduction of the taxable value has a cap of 16,000 kr per year.^[382]

By July 2014 the program run out of funds as a total of 5,028 new "super clean cars" had been registered in the country since January 2012.^[478][479] BIL Sweden, the national association for the automobile industry, requested the government an additional 100 million kr to cover the subsidy for another 2,500 registrations of new super clean cars between August and December 2014.^[479][480] In December 2014 the Riksdagen, the Swedish parliament, approved an appropriation of 215 million kr to finance the super clean car subsidies in 2015. The appropriation for 2015, according to the parliamentary decision and subsequent government decision, will be also be used for the retroactive payment of the super green cars registered in 2014 that did not receive the subsidy.^[50]

Registrations

A total of 178 all-electric cars were registered in Sweden in 2011, and registrations of plug-in electric vehicles climbed to 928 units in 2012, led by the Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid with 499 units, followed by the Nissan Leaf with 129 units, and the third place was shared by the Volvo C30 Electric and the Opel Ampera with 88 units each.^[476] Electric-drive cars reached a market share of 0.33% in 2012. In addition, 265 Renault Kangoo Z.E. utility vans were sold in 2012.^[476] During 2013 a total of 1,545 plug-in electric cars were registered in the country out of 269,363 new passenger cars sold, representing a market share of 0.57%.^[49] With 1,113 units registered in 2013, plug-in hybrids represented 72.0% of total plug-in electric car registrations. This number includes 10 BMW i3s sold with the range extender option, which in Sweden are classified as plug-in hybrids.^[49] The top selling plug-in cars during 2013 were the Volvo V60 PHEV with 601 units, the Prius PHV with 376 and the Nissan Leaf with 317.^[49]

Plug-in electric car sales during 2014 grew significantly. Registrations of super clean cars increased five-fold in July 2014 driven by the end of the quota of 5,000 new cars eligible for the super clean car subsidy.^[478][479] A total of 4,656 plug-in super clean passenger cars were registered in 2014, representing a 1.53% market share of new passenger cars registered in the country in 2014. Registrations of super clean cars were up 201% from 2013, while registrations of new passenger cars increased 12.7%.^[24][50] Super clean cars represented 8.8% of alternative fuel cars sold during 2014.^[24] The top selling plug-in electric cars in 2014 were the Mitsubishi Outlander P-HEV with 2,289 units, Volvo V60 PHEV with 745, and the Nissan Leaf with 438 units. The top selling all-electric utility van was the Kangoo Z.E. with 242 units out of a total of 282 electric vans registered.^[24]

The following table presents registrations of highway-capable plug-in electric cars by model between January 2011 and December 2014.

Registration of highway-capable plug-in electric cars by model in Sweden between 2011 and 2014[24][49][476]
Model		Total Registered	Market share(1)	2014	2013	2012	2011
Mitsubishi Outlander P-HEV		2,385	32.5%	2,289	96
Volvo V60 PHEV		1,388	18.9%	745	601	42
Toyota Prius PHV		1,085	14.8%	210	376	499
Nissan Leaf		884	12.0%	438	317	129
Tesla Model S		265	3.6%	265
Volkswagen e-Up!		239	3.3%	199	40
BMW i3	Total	221	3.0%	210	11
	REx	142	1.9%	132	10
	BEV	79	1.1%	78	1
Renault Zoe		204	2.8%	204
Volvo C30 Electric		198	2.7%	16	46	88	48
Opel Ampera		131	1.8%	22	21	88
Mitsubishi i MiEV		98	1.3%	6	12	9	71
Citroën C-Zero		71	1.0%	4	7	29	31
Chevrolet Volt		40	0.5%	0	7	33
Peugeot iOn		39	0.5%	2	0	9	28
Fisker Karma		21	0.3%	0	2	19;
Volkswagen e-Golf		17	0.2%	17
Audi A3 e-tron		14	0.2%	14
Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid		12	0.16%	10	2
Ford Focus Electric		6	0.08%	2	4
BMW i8		6	0.08%	6
Saab 9-3 ePower		4	0.05%	4
Porsche 918 Spyder		4	0.05%	4
Smart electric drive		2	0.03%	0	0	2
Kia Soul EV		2	0.03%	2
Total registrations		7,342(2)	100%	4,670(2)	1,547(2)	928	181
Notes: (1) Market share as percentage of the 7,342 plug-in electric cars registered in Sweden between January 2011 and December 2014. The number of super clean cars during the same period is 7,311 units. (2) According to the official Swedish definition of super clean cars (CO2 emissions of up to 50 g/km), the Fisker Karma and two Porsche plug-in models, the Panamera S E-Hybrid and the 918 Spyder are not classified as super clean cars, instead they are accounted as conventional hybrids. As a result, the total of super clean cars registered in 2014 is 4,656 units while total plug-in electric car registrations is 4,670 units. Super clean car registrations in 2013 include 3 fuel cell vehicles.[50]

Switzerland

There is an 80% discount in the annual taxes for the first 3 years, to cars with A efficiency label. Like HEV, EV etc. Deliveries of the Mitsubishi i MiEV began in 2011, and a total of 430 units have been registered in Switzerland through September 2012, including 219 i MiEVs, 110 C-Zeros, and 101 iOns.^[481] The Nissan Leaf was launched in November 2011,^[482][483] and a total of 86 Leafs have been sold through September 2012.^[481] The Swiss government does not have any subsidies or incentives for purchasing plug-in electric vehicles.^[484]

United Kingdom

Almost 54,000 plug-in electric vehicles have been registered in the UK up until December 2015, including plug-in hybrids and all-electric cars, and about 2,900 plug-in commercial vans. This figure includes a significant number of registered plug-in electric cars and vans which were not eligible for the grant programme.^[489][490] As of December 2014, there were 1,467 electric cars and vans registered that were not eligible for the Plug-in Grant scheme.^[47] Since the launch of the Plug-In Car Grant in January 2011, a total of 49,866 eligible cars have been registered until January 2016.^[491] In addition, before the introduction of series production plug-in vehicles, a total of 1,096 all-electric vehicles were registered between 2006 and December 2010.^[492]

Electric car sales grew from 138 units in 2010 to 1,082 units during 2011.^[486][493] Before 2011, the G-Wiz, a heavy quadricycle, listed as the top-selling EV for several years.^[494] During 2012, a total of 2,254 plug-in electric cars were registered in the UK, of which, 1,262 were pure electrics, and sales were led by the Nissan Leaf with 699 units, followed by the Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid and the Vauxhall Ampera, with 470 and 455 units sold, respectively, in 2012.^{[488][495][496]} Vehicles eligible for the Plug-in Car Grant accounted for 0.1% of total new car sales in 2012.^[497]

During 2013, a total of 3,586 plug-in electric cars were registered, up 59.0% from 2012.^[30][498] Of these, 2,512 were pure electric cars, up 99.0% from 2012, and 1,074 plug-in hybrids, up 8.1% from 2012.^[30] Plug-in car sales represented a 0.16% market share of total new cars sales in the UK in 2013.^[498] The top selling plug-in electric car during 2013 was the Nissan Leaf, with 1,812 units sold,^[499] and the Prius PHV ended 2013 as the top selling plug-in hybrid with 509 units sold, up 8.5% from 2012.^[498]

The British market experienced a surge of plug-in car sales during 2014, driven by the introduction of several new models.^{[31][500][501]} Plug-in electric car registrations in the UK quadruple from 3,586 in 2013 to 14,518 units in 2014.^[30] Registrations during 2014 consisted of 6,697 pure electrics and 7,821 plug-in hybrids. Total registrations in 2014 were up 305% from 2013, with all-electric cars growing 167% while plug-in hybrid registrations were up 628% from a year earlier.^[30] The plug-in electric car segment captured a 0.59% market share of new car sales in 2014, up from 0.16% in 2013.^[30][499] In November 2014, with 646 all-electric cars and 1,225 plug-in hybrids registered, the segment's market share passed 1% of monthly new car sales for the first time in the UK.^[502][503]

Nissan Leaf sales in September 2014 achieved a record of 851 units, up from 332 units the same month in 2013, representing not only the best monthly sales ever in the UK, but also the largest volume of Nissan Leafs ever sold in one month in a European country. The previous European record was achieved by Norway in March 2013 with 703 Leafs sold in that month.^[501][507] The Outlander P-HEV was among the new models with a significant effect in the market, released in April 2014, it captured a 35.8% market share of total plug-in sales during the first half of 2014.^[508] The Mitsubishi plug-in hybrid became the top selling plug-in electric vehicle in July 2014 and captured 43% of all applications to the Plug-in Car Grants scheme that month.^[509] The Outlander P-HEV ended 2014 as the top selling plug-in electric car in the UK that year with 5,370 units sold.^[510][511] The Nissan Leaf sales also experienced a significant growth in 2014, with 4,051 units sold, up 124% from the 1,812 units sold in 2013.^[31] As of December 2014, the Leaf continued ranking as the top selling plug-in electric car ever in the UK with cumulative sales of 7,197 units since its introduction in March 2011.^{[31][499][504]} Over 24,500 light-duty plug-in electric cars were registered in the country at the end of December 2014.^[47]

The surge in demand for plug-in cars continued during 2015, to the extent that 2014's ultra-low emission vehicle (ULEV) sales figure was passed in June 2015.^[513] Plug-in electric car registrations in the UK totaled 28,188 units in 2015, consisting of 9,934 pure electric cars and 18,254 plug-in hybrids. Total registrations in 2015 were up 94.0% from 2014, with all-electric cars growing 48.3% year-on-year, while plug-in hybrid registrations were up 133.0% year-on-year.^[485] The plug-in electric car segment raised its market share of new car sales in 2015 to almost 1.1%, up from 0.59% in 2014.^[30][489] With almost 3,100 plug-in cars sold during December 2015, the plug-in segment reached a record of 1.7% of new car sales in the UK, the highest ever.^[489]

Sales of the Mitsubishi Outlander P-HEV in the British market reached the 10,000 unit milestone in March 2015, allowing the plug-in hybrid to overtake the Leaf as the all-time top selling plug-in electric vehicle in the UK.^[512][514] Sales of the Nissan Leaf sales passed the 10,000 unit milestone in June 2015.^[515] The top selling models in 2015 were the Outlander P-HEV with 11,681 units registered, up 118% from 2014, followed by the Leaf with 5,236 units (up 29%), and the BMW i3 with 2,213 units (up 59%).^[505] As of December 2015, cumulative sales of the Outlander P-HEV, the top selling plug-in car in the UK ever, totaled 17,045 units registered,^[505] and cumulative sales of the Nissan Leaf, the top selling all-electric car ever, totaled 12,433 units registered.^{[31][499][504][505]}

The following table presents registrations of the top 20 selling highway-capable plug-in electric cars by model by the end of December 2014, and by the end of September 2015.

Top 20 selling light-duty highway-capable plug-in electric cars by registrations in the UK as of December 2014 and as of September 2015
Model	Total registered at the end of		Model	Total registered at the end of
	Sept 2015[516]	Dec 2014[517]		Sept 2015[516]	Dec 2014[517]
Mitsubishi Outlander P-HEV	14,099	5,273	Nissan e-NV200	896	399
Nissan Leaf	10,441	6,838	Renault Kangoo Z.E.	731	663
BMW i3	2,943	1,534	Peugeot iOn	371	368
Renault Zoe	2,401	1,356	Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid	361	241
Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid	1,501	1,324	Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid	314	232
Tesla Model S	1,346	698	Mitsubishi i MiEV	250	266
Vauxhall Ampera	1,279	1,169	Smart electric drive	216	205
Audi A3 e-tron	1,033	66	Citroën C-Zero	199	202
Volkswagen Golf GTE	1,025	0	Mercedes-Benz S500 PHEV	159	14
BMW i8	964	279	Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive	157	0
Note: Registrations figures seldom correspond to cumulative sales figures. In Europe, a significant number of plug-in electric cars are imported from neighborhood countries as used cars, mainly to Norway.

Government incentives

The Plug-in Car Grant program started on 1 January 2011 and is available across the U.K. The programme reduces the up-front cost of eligible cars by providing a 25% grant towards the cost of new plug-in cars capped at £5,000 (~US$7,450).^{[518][519][520]} From 1 April 2015, the purchase price cap was raised to cover up to 35% discount of the vehicle’s recommended retail price, up to the already existing £5,000 limit. This change means electric cars priced under £20,000 can take advantage of most or all of the £5,000 discount.^[521] Both private and business fleet buyers are eligible for this grant, which is received at the point of purchase and the subsidy is claimed back by the manufacturer afterwards.^[518][519]

The Plug-In Car Grant was extended to include vans since February 2012. Van buyers can receive 20% - up to £8,000 (~US$12,000)- off the cost of a plug-in van. To be eligible for the scheme, vans have to meet performance criteria to ensure safety, range, and ultra-low tailpipe emissions. Consumers, both business and private can receive the discount at the point of purchase.^[522]

In April 2014, the government announced that funding for the full grant of up to £5,000 will remain in place until either 50,000 grants have been issued or 2017, whichever is first.^[521][523] As forecasts estimated that the scheme would reached its 50,000 limit around November 2015, the government announced in August 2015 that the Plug-in Car Grant will continue until at least February 2016 for all plug-in cars with CO₂ emissions of 75 g/km of under.^[513] The Government also announced that a minimum of £200 million (~US$300 million) has been made available to continue the Plug-in Car Grant.^[524]

In December 2015, the Department for Transport (DfT) announced that Plug-in car grant was extended until March 2018 to encourage more than 100,000 UK motorists to buy cleaner vehicles. A total funding of £400 million (~US$600 million) will be available for the extension. To reflect the rapidly developing technology, and the growing range of ULEVs on the British market, the criteria for the Plug-in Car Grant was updated and the maximum grant drops from £5,000 (~US$7,450) to £4,500 (~US$6,700). For the extension, the amount of the grant is linked in directly with the Office for Low Emission Vehicles three vehicle categories issued in April 2015. The eligible ultra-low emission vehicles (ULEVs) must meet criteria in one of three categories depending on emission levels (CO₂ emissions bands between 50 to 75g/km) and zero-emission-capable mileage (minimum of 10 mi (16 km)), with a technology neutral approach, which means that hydrogen fuel cell cars are eligible for the grant.^{[521][526][527]} The updated scheme will go into effect on 1 March 2016.^[527]

A price cap will be in place, with all Category 1 plug-in vehicles eligible for the full grant no matter what their purchase price, while Category 2 and 3 models with a list price of more than £60,000 (~US$90,000) will not be eligible for the grant.^[526][527] Under the extended scheme, some plug-in hybrid sports car will no longer be eligible for the grant, such as the BMW i8 because of its £100,000 (~US$150,000) purchase price tag.^[525] Vehicles with a zero-emission range of at least 70 miles (110 km) (category 1), including hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, will get a full £4,500 (~US$6,700), but plug-in hybrids (categories 2 and 3) costing under £60,000 (~US$90,000) will receive £2,500 (~US$3,725).^[526][527] The grant scheme will come under review when a cumulative total of 40,000 Category 1 claims, and 45,000 Category 2 and 3 combined sales have been made. Both these totals will include cars sold before March 2016.^[527]

In addition to the extension of the Plug-in Grant, the government also announced it will continue the "Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme." Starting on March 2016 owners of ultra-low emission vehicles who install a dedicated charge point at their home, covering roughly half the average cost, will get £500 (~US$750) towards the cost of installing the charging point, rather than the previous £700 (~US$1,050) maximum.^[526][527]

Exemption from the London congestion charge

All-electric vehicles (BEVs) and eligible plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) qualify for a 100% discount from the London congestion charge. A plug-in electric drive vehicle qualifies if the vehicle is registered with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) and has a fuel type of 'electric', or alternatively, if the vehicle is a 'plug-in hybrid' and is on the Government's list of PHEVs eligible for the OLEV grant.^[528] As of February 2016, approved PHEVs include all extended-range cars such as the BMW i3 REx, and plug-in hybrids that emit 75g/km or less of CO₂ and that meet the Euro 5 standard for air quality, such as the Audi A3 Sportback e-tron, BMW i8, Mitsubishi Outlander P-HEV (passenger and van variants), Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid, and Volkswagen Golf GTE.^[529]

Plugged-in Places

On 19 November 2009, Andrew Adonis, the Secretary of State for Transport, announced a scheme called "Plugged-in-Places", making available £30 million to be shared between three and six cities to investigate further the viability of providing power supply for electric vehicles, and encouraging local government and business to participate and bid for funds.^[530] Current bids from areas to be included in the "Plugged in Places" scheme include; London, Milton Keynes and North East England.^[531]

The Government is supporting the ‘Plugged-In Places’ programme to install vehicle recharging points across the UK. The scheme offers match-funding to consortia of businesses and public sector partners to support the installation of electric vehicle recharging infrastructure in lead places across the UK.^[532] There are eight Plugged-In Places: East of England;^[533] Greater Manchester; London;^[534] Midlands;^[535] Milton Keynes;^[536] North East;^[537] Northern Ireland;^[538] and Scotland. The Government also published an Infrastructure Strategy in June 2011.^[539]

United States

As of December 2015, the United States has the largest fleet of plug-in electric vehicles in the world, with about 410,000 highway-capable plug-in electric cars sold since the market launch of the Tesla Roadster in 2008, representing 33% of the global stock of light-duty plug-in electric vehicles.^[6] Nationwide plug-in car sales climbed from 17,800 units in 2011 to 53,200 during 2012, and reached 97,100 units delivered in 2013, up 83% from the previous year.^[540] During 2014 plug-in electric car sales totaled 123,208 units, up 27.2% from 2013.^[541] About 115,000 plug-in electric cars were sold in 2015, down 6.5% from 2014.^[6] The market share of plug-in electric passenger cars increased from 0.14% of new car sales in 2011 to 0.37% in 2012, 0.62% in 2013, and reached 0.75% of new car sales during 2014.^{[541][542][543][544]} As plug-in car sales slowed down during the 2015, the segment's market share fell to 0.66% of new car sales, with the all-electric segment up to 0.42% from 0.41% in 2014, while plug-in hybrids declined to 0.25% from 0.34% in 2014.^[541][542]

As of January 2016, there are 26 highway-capable plug-in cars available in the American market for retail sales from over a dozen car manufacturers,^[547] plus several models of electric motorcycles, utility vans and neighborhood electric vehicles (NEVs). As of December 2015, plug-in electric car sales are led by the Nissan Leaf all-electric car with 89,591 units, followed by the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid with 88,750 units.^[548] The Leaf passed the Chevrolet Volt as the top selling PEV in March 2015. Both plug-in cars were released in December 2010.^[549][550] Launched in the U.S. market in June 2012, the Tesla Model S ranks as the third top selling plug-in electric car with 63,161 units,^[544][551] followed by the Prius PHV, launched in February 2012, with 42,293 units. Ranking fifth is the Ford Fusion Energi with 27,389 units, followed closely by the Ford C-Max Energi with 25,552 units.^{[541][542][543][544]}

During 2013 sales were led by the Chevrolet Volt with 23,094 units, followed by the Nissan Leaf with 22,610 cars, and the Tesla Model S with around 18,000 units.^[552][553] In 2014 the Leaf took the lead, with 30,200 units sold, with the Volt ranking second with 18,805, followed by the Model S with 16,689 units.^[542][551] The Tesla Model S, with 25,202 units delivered, was the top selling plug-in car in the U.S., followed by the Nissan Leaf with 17,269 units, the Volt with 15,393, and the BMW i3 with 11,024.^[541][551] October 2013 achieved the best-ever market share for plug-in vehicles at 0.85% of new car sales.^[554] December 2015 is the best monthly plug-in sales volume on record ever, with over 13,000 units delivered.^[541][555] The previous record month was May 2014, with over 12,000 units delivered.^[556][557]

California, the largest American car market, is also the leading PEV regional market in the country with a total of 173,811 plug-in electric vehicles registered between December 2010 and September 2015, representing 47.2% of all plug-in cars sold in the U.S. since 2010.^[37][558] Plug-in electric cars represented about 0.5% of the passenger fleet on the Californian roads by September 2015.^[559] During 2014 California's PEV market share reached 3.2% of total new car sales in the state, up from 2.5% in 2013.^[37][560] Registrations of plug-in electric cars in the state in 2014 represented 50.1% of total PEV sales in the U.S. that year.^[561] During the first nine months of 2015 the state's PEV market share fell to 2.8%, with the plug-in hybrid segment declining from 1.6% in 2014 to 1.2%, while the all-electric segment remained flat at 1.6%.^[558] As of December 2014, California had more plug-in electric vehicles than any other country, and its market share was surpassed only by Norway and the Netherlands.^[21][37][38]

From January to May 2013, 52% of American plug-in electric car registrations were concentrated in five metropolitan areas: San Francisco (19.5%), Los Angeles (15.4%), Seattle (8.0%), New York (4.6%) and Atlanta (4.4%).^[562][563] From January to July 2013, the three cities with the highest all-electric car registrations were all located in California, Atherton and Los Altos in the Silicon Valley, followed by Santa Monica, located in Los Angeles County.^[564][565] In terms of public charging points, there were 19,472 public outlets available across the country by the end of December 2013, led by California with 5,176 charging points (26.6%), followed by Texas with 1,599 (8.2%), and Washington state with 1,325 (6.8%).^[566] As of October 2013, there were 378 DC quick charging stations across the country.^[567]

The following table presents cumulative sales for the best selling highway-capable plug-in electric with over 2,000 units delivered and available for retail sales between 1996 and December 2015.

Top selling highway-capable plug-in electric cars available for retail sales or leasing in the U.S. between 2010 and 2015
Model	Type of PEV	Market launch	Sales/leases	Comments
Nissan Leaf	Electric car	December 2010	89,591	The Leaf is the top selling plug-in electric car in the United States. The Leaf passed the Chevrolet Volt as the top selling PEV in March 2015.[549] Sales through December 2015.[548]
Chevrolet Volt	Plug-in hybrid	December 2010	88,750	The Volt is the top selling plug-in hybrid in the United States. Sales through December 2015, of both first and second generation models.[548] Production of the first generation Volt ended in mid-May 2015.[568] Deliveries of the second generation Volt began in October 2015.[569]
Tesla Model S	Electric car	June 2012	63,161	Sales through December 2015.[544][551]
Toyota Prius PHV	Plug-in hybrid	February 2012	42,293	Sales through December 2015.[541][542][543][544] Production of the first generation Prius Plug-in ended in June 2015.[570] Production of the next generation is expected to begin in about October 2016.[571]
Ford Fusion Energi	Plug-in hybrid	February 2013	27,389	Sales through December 2015.[541][542][544]
Ford C-Max Energi	Plug-in hybrid	October 2012	25,552	Sales through December 2015.[541][542][543][544]
BMW i3	Electric car	May 2014	17,116	Sales through December 2015.[541][542] Includes REx variant.
Fiat 500e	Electric car	July 2013	10,950	Sales through Dcember 2015.[541][542][544]
Ford Focus Electric	Electric car	December 2011	5,977	Sales through Dcember 2015.[541][542][543][544][572]
Smart electric drive	Electric car	January 2011	5,431	Sales through December 2015, of both second and third generation models.[541][542][543][544][573]
Volkswagen e-Golf	Electric car	October 2014	4,589	Sales through December 2015.[541][542]
Chevrolet Spark EV	Electric car	June 2013	4,313	Sales through December 2015.[541][542][544]
BMW i8	Plug-in hybrid	August 2014	2,820	Sales through December 2015.[541][542]
Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive	Electric car	July 2014	2,680	Sales through December 2015.[541][542]
Cadillac ELR	Electric car	December 2013	2,340	Sales through December 2015.[541][542][544]
Mitsubishi i	Electric car	December 2011	2,008	Sales through December 2015.[574]
Selected out-of-production highway-capable plug-in electric cars available for retail sales or leasing in the U.S. between 1996 and 2015
Toyota RAV4 EV (2nd gen)	Electric car	September 2012	2,490	Sales through October 2015.[542][543][544][575] Production ended in September 2014.[576]
Tesla Roadster	Electric car	March 2008	About 1,800	Almost 2,500 units sold worldwide by December 2012, exact U.S. sales not available.[577][578][579] Production ended in January 2012 and not available for sale in the U.S. since December 2011.[580]
Fisker Karma	Plug-in hybrid	November 2011	1,635	Sales through December 2013.[544][581][582][583] Production was suspended in November 2012 due to financial difficulties.[584] Fisker Automotive filed for bankruptcy in November 2013.[585]
Toyota RAV4 EV (1st gen)	Electric car	1997	1,484	Units leased from 1997 to 2003. As of mid-2012, there were almost 500 units still in use.[586]
General Motors EV1	Electric car	1996	1,117	Units leased from 1996 to 2003. All cars were repossessed and most were crushed.[587] About 40 units were delivered to museums and educational institutes with their electric powertrains deactivated. The only intact EV1 was donated to the Smithsonian Institution.[588]
Honda Fit EV	Electric car	July 2012	1,071	Sales through October 2015.[542][543][544][575] In July 2014 Honda announced the end of production of the Fit EV for the 2015 model.[589]
Honda Accord PHEV	Plug-in hybrid	January 2013	1,039	Sales through December 2015.[541][542][543][544] In June 2015 Honda announced that the Accord PHEV will be discontinued after the 2015 model year. New dedicated plug-in hybrid and battery electric models are scheduled after the introduction of Honda's next generation fuel cell vehicle in 2016.[590]

Government incentives

The Energy Improvement and Extension Act of 2008, and later the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (ACES) granted tax credits for new qualified plug-in electric vehicles.^[591] The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) also authorized federal tax credits for converted plug-ins, though the credit is lower than for new PEVs.^[592]

The federal tax credit for new plug-in electric vehicles is worth $2,500 plus $417 for each kilowatt-hour of battery capacity over 5 kWh, and the portion of the credit determined by battery capacity cannot exceed $5,000. Therefore, the total amount of the credit allowed for a new PEV is $7,500.^[591] Several states have established incentives and tax exemptions for BEVs and PHEV, and other non-monetary incentives.

Two separate initiatives are being pursued in 2011 to transform the tax credit into a cash rebate worth up to $7,500. The initiatives by Senator Debbie Stabenow and the Obama Administration seek to make new qualifying plug-in electric cars more accessible to buyers by making the incentive more effective. The rebate will be available at the point of sale allowing consumers to avoid a wait of up to a year to apply the tax credit against income tax returns.^{[593][594][595]} Another change to the rules governing the tax credit was introduced by Senator Carl Levin and Representative Sander Levin who are proposing to raise the existing cap on the number of plug-in vehicles eligible for the tax credit. The proposal raises that limit from the existing 200,000 PEVs per manufacturer to 500,000 units.^[593]

The U.S. government also has pledged US$2.4 billion in federal grants to support the development of next-generation electric cars and batteries, and US$115 million for the installation of electric vehicle charging infrastructure in 16 different metropolitan areas around the country. President Barack Obama also set the goal of bringing 1 million plug-in electric vehicles on the road by 2015.^[596][597] However, considering the actual slow rate of PEV sales, as of mid-2012 several industry observers have concluded that this goal is unattainable.^{[598][599][600]}

CARB ZEV mandate

Since the late 1980s, electric vehicles have been promoted in the US through the use of tax credits. Electric cars are the most common form of what is defined by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) as zero emission vehicle (ZEV) passenger automobiles, because they produce no emissions while being driven. The CARB had set progressive quotas for sales of ZEVs, but most were withdrawn after lobbying and a lawsuit by auto manufacturers complaining that EVs were economically infeasible due to an obvious lack of consumer demand. Many of the factors that hindered the widespread production of electric cars during the late 1990s and 2000s are discussed in the documentary film Who Killed the Electric Car?.^[601]

The California program was designed by CARB to reduce air pollution and not specifically to promote electric vehicles. Under pressure from various manufactures, CARB replaced the zero emissions requirement with a combined requirement of a very small number of ZEVs to promote research and development, and a much larger number of partial zero-emissions vehicles (PZEVs), an administrative designation for a super ultra low emissions vehicle (SULEV), which emits about 10% of the pollution of ordinary low emissions vehicles and are also certified for zero evaporative emissions. While effective in reaching the air pollution goals projected for the zero emissions requirement, the market effect was to permit the major manufacturers to quickly terminate their electric car programs and crush the vehicles.^[601]

See also

• Battery electric vehicle
• Electric car
• Electric vehicle
• Government incentives for plug-in electric vehicles
• List of modern production plug-in electric vehicles
• Electric vehicle industry in India
• Neighborhood electric vehicle
• Plug-in electric vehicle

References

External links

• Driving Electrification - A Global Comparison of Fiscal Incentive Policy for Electric Vehicles, International Council on Clean Transportation, May 2014
• Global EV Outlook 2013 - Understanding the Electric Vehicle Landscape to 2020, International Energy Agency (IEA), April 2013
• Hybrid and Electric Vehicles - The Electric Drive Gains Traction (See section C, overview by country), IA-HEV, International Energy Agency, May 2013
• Plug-In Electric Vehicles: A Case Study of Seven Markets (Norway, Netherlands, California, United States, France, Japan, and Germany), UC Davis, October 2014.
• Shades of Green - Electric Cars' Carbon Emissions Around the Globe, Shrink that Footprint, February 2013.