Plug-in electric vehicle

For the more general category of electric drive for all type of vehicles, see electric vehicle. For the specific electric drive cars and SUVs, see electric car and plug-in hybrid.
  • All-time top-selling plug-in cars
  • (global sales since inception)
Tesla Model Y electric car (2.49 million)
Tesla Model 3 electric car (2.06 million)
Wuling Hongguang Mini EV electric car (1.22 million)
BYD Song DM plug-in hybrid car (>1.05 million)
As of December 2023[1][2][3][4]

A plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) is any road vehicle that can utilize an external source of electricity (such as a wall socket that connects to the power grid) to store electrical energy within its onboard rechargeable battery packs, to power an electric motor and help propel the wheels. PEV is a subset of electric vehicles, and includes all-electric/battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs).[5][6][7] Sales of the first series production plug-in electric vehicles began in December 2008 with the introduction of the plug-in hybrid BYD F3DM, and then with the all-electric Mitsubishi i-MiEV in July 2009, but global retail sales only gained traction after the introduction of the mass production all-electric Nissan Leaf and the plug-in hybrid Chevrolet Volt in December 2011.

Plug-in electric cars have several benefits compared to conventional internal combustion engine vehicles. All-electric vehicles have lower operating and maintenance costs, and produce little or no air pollution when under all-electric mode, thus (depending on the electricity source) reducing societal dependence on fossil fuels and significantly decreasing greenhouse gas emissions, but recharging takes longer time than refueling and is heavily reliant on sufficient charging infrastructures to remain operationally practical. Plug-in hybrid vehicles are a good in-between option that provides most of electric cars' benefits when they are operating in electric mode, though typically having shorter all-electric ranges, but have the auxiliary option of driving as a conventional hybrid vehicle when the battery is low, using its internal combustion engine (usually a gasoline engine) to alleviate the range anxiety that accompanies current electric cars.

Cumulative global sales of highway-legal plug-in electric passenger cars and light utility vehicles achieved the 1 million unit mark in September 2015,[8] 5 million in December 2018.[9] and the 10 million unit milestone in 2020.[10] Despite the rapid growth experienced, however, the stock of plug-in electric cars represented just 1% of all passengers vehicles on the world's roads by the end of 2020, of which pure electrics constituted two thirds.[11]

As of December 2023, the Tesla Model Y ranked as the world's top selling highway-capable plug-in electric car in history.[1] The Tesla Model 3 was the first electric car to achieve global sales of more than 1,000,000 units.[12][13] The BYD Song DM SUV series is the world's all-time best selling plug-in hybrid, with global sales over 1,050,000 units through December 2023.[14][15][16][17][18][19]

As of December 2021, China had the world's largest stock of highway legal plug-in electric passenger cars with 7.84 million units, representing 46% of the world's stock of plug-in cars.[20] Europe ranked next with about 5.6 million light-duty plug-in cars and vans at the end of 2021, accounting for around 32% of the global stock.[21][22][23] The U.S. cumulative sales totaled about 2.32 million plug-in cars through December 2021.[24] As of July 2021, Germany is the leading European country with cumulative sales of 1 million plug-in vehicles on the road,[25] and also has led the continent plug-in sales since 2019.[22][26] Norway has the highest market penetration per capita in the world,[27] and also achieved in 2021 the world's largest annual plug-in market share ever registered, 86.2% of new car sales.[28]

  1. ^ a b Akhtar, Riz (2024-01-29). "Tesla Model Y confirmed as world's best-selling car in 2023, beating Rav4 and Corolla". The Driven. Retrieved 2024-01-31. The Model Y first emerged as a best seller in the first quarter of last year, and now data firm Jato Dynamics has confirmed that it maintained this status for the entire year, selling 1.23 million cars.
  2. ^ "【易车销量榜】全国2021年纯电动批发量销量榜-易车榜-易车". car.yiche.com. Retrieved 2024-01-21.
  3. ^ "【易车销量榜】全国2023年插电混动批发量销量榜-易车榜-易车". car.yiche.com. Retrieved 2024-01-21.
  4. ^ Pontes, José (2023-08-02). "World EV Sales Now 19% Of World Auto Sales!". CleanTechnica. Retrieved 2023-08-06. "The top 5 global best selling plug-in electric cars during the first half of 2023 were the Tesla Model Y (579,552), the Tesla Model 3 (279,320), the BYD Song (BEV + PHEV) with 259,723, the BYD Qin Plus (BEV + PHEV) with 204,529 and the BYD Yuan Plus/Atto 3 (201,505). The Wuling Hongguang Mini EV sold 122,052 units, the BYD Han (BEV + PHEV) 96,437 units and the VW ID.4 86,481 units."
  5. ^ David B. Sandalow, ed. (2009). Plug-In Electric Vehicles: What Role for Washington? (1st. ed.). The Brookings Institution. pp. 2–5. ISBN 978-0-8157-0305-1. See definition on pp. 2.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference CSE was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "PEV Frequently Asked Questions". Duke Energy. Archived from the original on 2012-03-27. Retrieved 2010-12-24.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Global1mi was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference 5miGlobal was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Shanahan, Jess (2021-01-21). "There are now more than 10 million electric vehicles on the road". Zap Map. Retrieved 2021-01-21. there are now more than 10 million of these vehicles on the road around the world. According to EV Volumes, the total is now 10.8 million worldwide
  11. ^ International Energy Agency (IEA), Clean Energy Ministerial, and Electric Vehicles Initiative (EVI) (2021-04-29). "Global EV Outlook 2021: Accelerating ambitions despite the pandemic". International Energy Agency. Retrieved 2021-05-16. After a decade of rapid growth, in 2020 the global electric car stock hit the 10 million mark, a 43% increase over 2019, and representing a 1% stock share. Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) accounted for two thirds of new electric car registrations and two-thirds of the stock in 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference Model3TopEV was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Shahan, Zachary (2021-08-26). "Tesla Model 3 Has Passed 1 Million Sales". CleanTechnica. Retrieved 2021-08-26.
  14. ^ "【易车销量榜】全国2023年比亚迪插电混动零售量销量榜-易车榜-易车". car.yiche.com. Retrieved 2024-02-25.
  15. ^ "【易车销量榜】全国2022年比亚迪插电混动零售量销量榜-易车榜-易车". car.yiche.com. Retrieved 2024-02-25.
  16. ^ "【易车销量榜】全国2022年比亚迪插电混动零售量销量榜-易车榜-易车". car.yiche.com. Retrieved 2024-02-25.
  17. ^ "2021年全球新能源乘用车销量榜: 冠亚军分别是特斯拉、比亚迪、上汽通用五菱-华夏EV网". www.evinchina.com. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
  18. ^ "【易车销量榜】全国2020年比亚迪插电混动零售量销量榜-易车榜-易车". car.yiche.com. Retrieved 2024-03-01.
  19. ^ "【易车销量榜】全国2020年比亚迪插电混动零售量销量榜-易车榜-易车". car.yiche.com. Retrieved 2024-03-01.
  20. ^ Cite error: The named reference China2021parc was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  21. ^ Cite error: The named reference EVOutlook2020 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  22. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Europe2021ACEA was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  23. ^ Cite error: The named reference Europe2021ACEA_LCV was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  24. ^ Argonne National Laboratory (January 2022). "Light Duty Electric Drive Vehicles Monthly Sales Updates: Plug-In Vehicle Sales". Argonne National Laboratory. Retrieved 2022-01-13. Cumulatively, 607,567 PHEVs and BEVs have been sold in 2021. In total, 2,322,291 PHEVs and BEVs have been sold since 2010.
  25. ^ Bundersministerium für Wirstschaft und Energie (2021-08-02). "Erstmals rollen eine Million Elektrofahrzeuge auf deutschen Straßen" [For the first time, a million electric vehicles are rolling on German roads] (Press release) (in German). BMWI. Archived from the original on 2021-10-28. Retrieved 2021-10-12.
  26. ^ Kraftfahrt-Bundesamtes (KBA) (2021-01-08). "Pressemitteilung Nr. 02/2021 - Fahrzeugzulassungen im Dezember 2020 - Jahresbilanz" [Press release No. 02/2021 - Vehicle registrations in December 2020 - Annual balance sheet] (in German). KBA. Archived from the original on 2021-07-19. Retrieved 2021-01-21. A total of 394,632 plug-in electric passenger cars were registered in Germany in 2021, consisting of 200,469 plug-in hybrids (6.9% market share) and 194,163 all-electric cars (6.7% market share).
  27. ^ Cobb, Jeff (17 January 2017). "Top 10 Plug-in Vehicle Adopting Countries of 2016". HybridCars.com. Archived from the original on 29 April 2021. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
  28. ^ Cite error: The named reference Norway2021 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).