EVs could account for 33% of global sales by 2028, says analysts

NEW YORK CITY, New York: Electric vehicle (EV) sales could reach 33 percent globally by 2028, and 54 percent by 2035, according to global consultant AlixPartners.

In 2021, EVs accounted for less than 8 percent of global sales, and just under 10 percent in the first quarter of 2022.

At its annual Global Automotive Outlook briefing, the firm said to support that demand, automakers and suppliers must now invest at least $526 billion in EVs and batteries between 2022 and 2026, more than double the five-year EV investment forecast of $234 billion from 2020-2024.

Mark Wakefield, co-leader of the firm's automotive practice, said those higher investments "have now made EV growth inevitable," adding that the industry still faces economic and supply chain challenges during the transition from internal combustion engine vehicles to EVs.

The transition will require "drastic changes to operating models, not just plants and people, but the whole way of working," he said, as reported by Reuters.

Raw materials for EVs also cost more than twice of those for conventional autos: $8,255 per vehicle vs $3,662 per vehicle, as of May 2022.

According to Elmer Kades, co-leader of automotive practices, the transition to electric vehicles will cost automakers and suppliers a cumulative $70 billion by 2030.

Total vehicle sales in the U.S. are expected to rise to 16 million in 2023 and peak at 17.5 million in 2024, before declining from 2025 to 2026.