Revved Up: 2022 is the Year of the Electric Vehicle (Finally!)
It’s the year we’ve all been waiting for — the year of the electric vehicle (EV). According to research firm BloombergNEF, a record-breaking 7.1 million EVs were sold in the first half of 2022 alone, with projections for 10.6 million sales by the end of the year. This is despite ongoing issues with the vehicle supply chain that have made it difficult to get EVs into dealership lots.
So what’s driving this surge in EV sales? For one thing, government incentives for choosing electric vehicles over gas-powered ones seem to be paying off. Germany, the UK, and China have all offered generous incentives to car buyers, and the US government recently passed a slew of programs to support the American EV supply chain and offer vehicle purchase incentives.
In addition to government efforts, automakers have ramped up production of a wide range of EVs, making it easier for consumers to find an electric option that meets their needs. From small hatchbacks to sports cars to trucks, there’s an EV for everyone. And with top automakers pledging to spend a whopping $1.2 trillion to produce 54 million EVs by the end of the decade, it looks like the electric revolution is here to stay.
But it’s not all smooth sailing for EVs — there’s still a long way to go in terms of building out a global network of charging stations, and concerns about the environmental impact of producing all those batteries linger. Plus, there’s always the chance that fossil fuel companies will fight back against the rise of EVs.
Despite these challenges, it looks like 2022 is the year that EVs finally took off. Let’s hope this trend continues as we work towards a cleaner, greener future.
