Electric Cars Pass the Tipping Point to Mass Adoption in 31 Countries
Once 5% of new-car sales go fully electric, everything changes — according to a Bloomberg Green analysis of transitions underway across four continents.
Tesla Inc. electric vehicles parked at charging stations in Beijing.
Source: Bloomberg
New technologies have a tendency to blindside. When color TVs were introduced in the 1950s, for example, they seemed like a flop. The devices were expensive, programming was scarce, and after a decade on the market few homes had one. Then suddenly prices dropped, a ratings war ensued, and in just a few years most US households were watching The Jetsons in its futuristic palette.
A comparable shift is currently underway with electric vehicles, according to a Bloomberg Green analysis of adoption rates around the world. By the end of last year, 31 countries had surpassed what’s become a pivotal EV tipping point: when 5% of new car sales are purely electric. This threshold signals the start of mass adoption, after which technological preferences rapidly flip.