Electric vehicle sales up 79% year-over-year; Apple Car, anyone?

This could be good news for the rumored “Apple Car,” which will almost certainly be an electric car: global electric vehicle (EV) shipments are up 79% year-over-year (YoY) in the first quarter of 2022, according to Counterpoint Research.

After surviving the COVID-19 pandemic and semiconductor shortages, the global automotive sector continued to recover in early 2022, notes the research group. Passenger vehicle shipments, especially EV shipments, grew during the first quarter. 

According to the latest research from Counterpoint’s Global Electric Passenger Vehicle Model Shipments Tracker, EV shipments grew 79% YoY in Q1 2022 to reach 1.95 million units. Of these, battery electric vehicles (BEVs) accounted for 73% and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) for the rest. 

China remained the market leader in EV shipments, followed by Europe and the US. China’s EV shipments increased 126% YoY in Q1 2022 to reach more than 1.14 million units from just 0.5 million units in Q1 2021.

“The EV market is witnessing a boom,” says Counterpoint Senior Research Analyst Soumen Mandal. “However, shipments would have been higher if the automotive supply chain was not affected by the Ukraine crisis and fresh COVID-19 waves in China in March 2022. With EVs comprising just 12% of the total passenger vehicle shipments during the first quarter of 2022, there is a lot of scope for expansion. Fresh players are entering the market to benefit from the opportunity. To counter new entrants, existing players are using leading-edge technologies to have improved battery, superior IVI system and higher levels of ADAS in their EV models as major selling points.”

Counterpoint says that Tesla has registered phenomenal growth over the course of a year. The company’s shipments grew 68% YoY in quarter one of 2022 and are expected to cross 1.3 million units by the end of 2022. Despite increasing competition, Tesla is likely to remain the market leader in the BEV segment for the next few years, predicts Counterpoint.

When might we see an Apple Car?

On. Nov. 18, 2021, Bloomberg reported that Apple is accelerating development on its “Apple Car.” The article says the electric vehicle will be self-driving and could roll out in 2025. 

What’s more, in a note to clients — as noted by AppleInsider — investment bank Wedbush says Apple is likely to announce a strategic electric vehicle partnership in 2022 to lay the groundwork for an “Apple Car” release in 2025.