Recently, the International Energy Agency (IEA) released the global electric vehicle outlook report. According to the report, in 2021, the total sales of pure electric and hybrid electric vehicles in the world will reach 6.6 million, doubling year-on-year. Driven by the strong policy support of countries around the world and the continuous introduction of new models by automobile enterprises, the global sales of electric vehicles is expected to maintain a high-speed growth trend this year.

According to IEA statistics, by the end of 2021, the number of electric vehicles in the world had reached 16.5 million, more than double that of the end of 2018. In the first quarter of this year, the global sales of electric vehicles has reached more than 2 million, with a year-on-year increase of 75%, which also means that the global sales of electric vehicles will further break the record this year.

Among them, China's electric vehicle market is particularly prominent. In 2021, China's electric vehicle sales reached 3.3 million, more than double the year-on-year growth, and also accounted for about 50% of the global total sales. In the same period, the sales of electric vehicles in European countries increased by 65% year-on-year to 2.3 million. In contrast, the growth of the electric vehicle market in the United States is slow. Last year, the sales volume of electric vehicles was only about 630000.

IEA analysis believes that the vigorous development of the electric vehicle market in 2021 can not be separated from the policy support of governments, including providing subsidies and financial incentives for the electric vehicle industry. According to the data, in 2021, many countries in the world set goals for the development of electric vehicles, providing a total of nearly $30 billion in support funds for electric vehicles. At the same time, there are more and more electric vehicle models in the world, reaching 450 by the end of 2021.

IEA director Birol said: "electric vehicles are one of the few dynamic fields in the world at present. Although it is encouraging that the sales of electric vehicles continue to set new records, policy makers, enterprise decision makers and investors in various countries still need to be highly vigilant against the risk of interruption in the supply chain of electric vehicles and the supply of key minerals."

It is understood that by may 2022, the global lithium price has reached about seven times that of the beginning of 2021. Meanwhile, the prices of cobalt and nickel, the two major power battery raw materials, have risen sharply. The IEA pointed out that the sharp rise in the price of key minerals has pushed up the price cost of power batteries, reversing the trend of decline in the cost of electric vehicles over the years.

Moreover, the IEA predicts that in the short term, the high demand for electric vehicles will further push up the prices of lithium, nickel and other key minerals. Meanwhile, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the COVID-19 epidemic may also adversely affect the global electric vehicle supply chain. In this regard, the agency believes that policymakers and relevant enterprises should work together to increase investment in key mineral resources and ensure that sufficient resources are provided for clean energy transformation.

It is worth noting that the IEA also stressed that the development of the global electric truck market is still less than expected. In 2021, the global sales of electric trucks accounted for only 0.3% of the total sales of trucks, which was far lower than the proportion of electric passenger vehicles in the global market. Only China began to deploy electric trucks globally. According to IEA estimates, to achieve the established traffic decarbonization target, the proportion of electric trucks with zero carbon emissions needs to reach more than 10% of the total sales volume.

For the future development of the electric vehicle industry, IEA suggests that the electric vehicle industry should formulate more stringent standards for vehicle energy efficiency and carbon dioxide emissions. At the same time, emerging economies should increase investment in the field of electric vehicles and give priority to the development of two wheel, three wheel electric vehicles and urban electric buses. In addition, in order to promote the long-term development of the electric vehicle field, countries should increase investment in charging infrastructure and provide supporting services for the booming electric vehicle market.