USAID’s URJA NEPAL PROGRAM ELECTRIC VEHICLE REPORT ON GLOBAL EXPERIENCE

However, with the advent of the 21st century, global focus has shifted towards carbon emissions and environmental impacts of ICE-based automobiles. The rapidly deteriorating environmental conditions and their subsequent impacts on life and property have led policy makers to scrutinize the role of ICE vehicles in increasing atmospheric pollution. As a result, the policy makers, governments, and automobile producers across the globe have started focusing on methods to reduce carbon emissions from the transport segment, leading to the rapid development in Electric Vehicle (EV) technology. Globally, EVs have emerged as the most promising alternative transportation option to ICE vehicles, with China leading the pace of adoption, followed by the EU and the United States. The use of EVs can provide a viable alternative to meet the commitment of reducing the carbon footprint, while also reducing dependence on fossil fuels. The major factors driving the EV Market can be broadly classified into four categories. Cost economics is a significant factor, with the total cost of owning an electric vehicle often being on par with, or even lower than, their ICE counterparts. Fiscal support through government subsidies and incentives has also played a crucial role in shaping some of the success stories on EV market uptake, mainly around public transportation services and charging infrastructure. Climate change and environmental degradation are at the center stage of all international debate and discussion. The transport sector's global emissions are heading in the wrong direction, and account for the fastest-growing source of emissions around the world. To reduce the carbon footprint, most of the countries around the world have considered aggressive EV deployment as a part of their roadmap to meet the targets under the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC). Nations setting targets to ban or reduce ICE vehicles in the future has led reputed automobile manufacturers to start manufacturing EVs, and have set targets on the share of EVs in their total automobile sales figures. Some manufacturers have even committed to selling only EVs post-2025 or 2030. This growth of manufacturing infrastructure has led to the availability of a wide range of options for consumers to choose from, which has led to growth in sales of EVs. The development of a market for EVs and their associated charging infrastructure has been a traditional chicken-and-egg problem. Without sufficient charging options, the uptake of EVs will be slow, and this slow growth limits the financial attractiveness of investing in charging infrastructure. To address this, governments have begun to invest in charging infrastructure, either commercially or as a not-for-profit endeavor. This accelerates EV uptake by increasing the supply of charging stations and directly supports private sector-led business models around charging infrastructure. Battery technology has improved significantly over the years, with EV batteries having a longer range, higher energy density, longer life, lower charging time, and superior safety features. Standards and protocols on EV charging have been developed, resulting in wider access and charger capacity. In addition, subsidies and incentives for battery manufacturers have led to the formation of larger production facilities, which can produce huge volumes at lower costs. The global electric car stock exceeded 10 million in 2020, as compared to approximately 7.1 million in 2019 and 5.1 million in 2018. Policy support, by way of preferential rates, purchase incentives, and rebates, has played a critical role in faster adoption of electric vehicles. Over the years, the electric-vehicle charging infrastructures have also witnessed consistent growth, thus complementing electric-vehicle development. Publicly accessible slow and fast chargers have increased to 1.3 million in 2020. Many countries, including the US, China, Norway, Germany, France, Japan, Canada, and Finland, are contributing significantly towards EV uptake. China boasts the world's largest electric car market, accounting for more than 40% of the electric cars sold in the world and more than double the amount sold in the United States. Policy support has been the primary driver of initial EV adoption, as well as generating continually increasing consumer interest and demand.