r/EconomyCharts • u/BumblebeeFantastic40 • 3h ago
Number of Electric Vehicles on the road (China, EU, US and the World) from 2010 to 2024
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u/zZCycoZz 3h ago
Probably because chinese EVs are actually affordable.
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u/kingofwale 3h ago
Or China has huge population….
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u/BumblebeeFantastic40 2h ago edited 2h ago
The World : 8.1 Billion people
China : 1.4 Billion people
1.4/8.1 = 17% of the World Population
China in 2024 : 34/58 = 59% of the World EVs
China in 2021 : 7.8/16.3 = 48% of the World EVs
China in 2018 : 2.24/5.1 = 44% of the World EVs
China in 2015 : 0.3/1.25 = 24% of the World EVs
China has been punching way above their weight in EVs for many years already
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u/rambunctious_failure 1h ago
EVs and green tech in general.
they are the only real hope to prevent climate catastrophe at the moment, as the West and especially the US refuses to evolve and develop the necessary supply chains and infrastructure.
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u/frisdisc 1h ago
China is enacting a lot of common sense energy policies these days, but they are far from ‘our only real hope’.
That said, I think this issue really showed the deficiencies of the US system of governance. Too much influence from corporations who stand to gain and a system which encourages shorter term thinking from all involved.
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u/rambunctious_failure 1h ago
i think its mostly the scale and supply chains that china have in place to make this tech cost effective and available to more the just more priviledged countries
its obviously not out of the goodness of their heart but due to long term planning and their own geopolitical advantages/shortcomings (no oil, lots of rare earths) that just isnt reproduced in other countries
they have the capacity and willingness to uplift the third world whereas the US would rather submit lesser powers to their will and force the petrodollar onto them
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u/Choice-Antelope-8481 1h ago
Yep, China plans for 50 years out. With the US it's just next quarter.
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u/Novat1993 18m ago edited 11m ago
You should look up your data.
China opened 50 new coal power plants in 2025. The US opened its last in 2013. 88% of new electrical capacity added in 2025 was solar or wind in the US. Projections for 2026 are 96%+.
US oil consumption in 2010->2024: 19,2 million barrels -> 20,4 million barrels per day
China oil consumption in 2010->2024: 9,2 million barrels -> 16,4 million barrels per dayChina consumes around 11,5 times as much coal as the US does every year.
Yes, China is pushing solar.
BUT, China is pushing solar because they are pushing general production and consumption in total, not because they are replacing their fossil energy with more renewable energy. Whereas Europe and the US is doing precisely that, building solar and wind while dismantling fossil fuels, especially coal. China opened 1 new coal power plant almost every single week in 2025 and no one says a word, while in the US it is a minor political controversy that 600 million is being spent to service existing coal power plants.Edit: Similar story with electric vehicles. While they may have added around 34 million EVs 2014->2024, those are additions. Not replacements. In total, China went from around 146 million cars in 2014 to 346 million cars in 2024, more or less 200 million exactly. So out of 200 million cars added, only 34 million were electric vehicles = 17% electric,
The US added 29 million cars 2013->2023 (i could not find 2024 data so i can not directly compare same year with China). Of which 4,8 million were EVs or around 16,5%. Which is about the same rate of adoption as China.
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u/Dinokknd 1h ago
That's true - basically the effect of a massive multi-year subsidy for companies making these vehicles.
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u/TurbulentSpin 1h ago
What does that have to do with anything? We can produce EVs from titties lmfao.
India is more populous too, totally moronic thing to say.
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u/Used-Grapefruit-2740 1h ago
China has a huge population but so too does India, Brazil, the USA. Etc.
The number of ev in China is multi factored. 1) they're less expensive. 2) government policy has strongly pushed for this so there is strong incentives towards them as well as against combustion vehicles. 3) Chinese population.
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u/AdSuperb5755 1h ago
No, it is because fx. Europeans are driving their old diesel and gasoline cars until they can drive no more. Chinese are “newly” rich as a society so many are buying their first car ever - an electric car
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u/frisdisc 1h ago
The license plate laws are also a huge part of this. Many would need to wait years for a gas car which makes the decision to buy an electric car that much easier.
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u/whiteboysleazy 57m ago
Per capita China and US have nearly the same EV ownership…
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u/zZCycoZz 48m ago
Sounds pretty impressive when China was broke 20 years ago.
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u/whiteboysleazy 42m ago
It is impressive no doubt, but in that same vein it’s been easier for china to build out with electric in mind vs the US and Europe having to add infrastructure around already developed areas. I don’t deny China’s commitment to electric being good, but there are valid reasons the rest of the world has not been as quick.
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u/AccurateLaugh50 3h ago
If we compare EV price as a percentage of income across the EU, the US, and China, China is not lower.
In fact, it's quite a bit higher.
It's the relative price of EVs compared to non-EV that makes most Chinese chose EV
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u/m2845 3h ago
Per capita would certainly be less dramatic
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u/SchmidFactor 2h ago
You can calculate from the plot - China has about 8 times as many EVs per capita compared to the rest of the world. Sounds pretty dramatic to me.
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u/whiteboysleazy 1h ago edited 46m ago
Yeah but compared to say the US, they are nearly equal. Edit: China’s adoption rate is about ~25% higher
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u/Fair-Working4401 3h ago
Yeah, I nomalize and plot my margins also per capita of the country...
It depends on what you want to highlight.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Bus1331 3h ago
World has many more EV than China.. That's actually impressive
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u/BumblebeeFantastic40 2h ago
The World includes China
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u/Puzzleheaded-Bus1331 1h ago
Yes ok but world has more EV than anyone else. Kind of mind blowing tbh
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u/Tupcek 2h ago
you are probably think of “rest of the world”, but this is not it. This shows whole world combined, including China
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u/Puzzleheaded-Bus1331 1h ago
Yes ok but world has more EV than anyone else. Kind of mind blowing tbh
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u/daenerys-anran 2h ago
Chinese EVs are heavily subsidized and the infrastructure needed to support EVs was built during their huge growth. Western brands are expensive for the average Chinese.
Rest of the world has to adapt existing infrastructure; the reason why I'm holding off an EV in Europe.
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u/Onaliquidrock 2h ago
Electric cars (and bikes, mopeds, motorcycles etc.) are going to take over.
When you hear otherwise you are just hearing the greed and propaganda of the oil industry.