Electric Vehicles — A Necessary Means to Achieve Net-Zero Carbon Emissions
Taiwan and Norway have drastically different market reactions to electric vehicle adoption
Given that most governments worldwide have reached a consensus they want to achieve net-zero carbon emissions, electric vehicles are a proactive means to achieve this goal. Whether electric vehicles are widely adopted is reflected in their market share. Both Taiwan and Norway have a relatively small and mature automobile market, but there is a significant disparity in their electric vehicle market shares.
Why are governments worldwide promoting electric vehicles? It’s because electric vehicles are the optimal solution to achieving net-zero carbon emissions. When fossil fuel vehicles are replaced with electric vehicles, we can achieve emissions-free transportation and reduce greenhouse emissions.
And why is achieving net-zero carbon emissions necessary? It is a way to combat global warming, improve environmental sustainability, and present Taiwan with the opportunity to align itself with an international trend. Considering these factors, increasing the adoption rate of electric vehicles and achieving net-zero are crucial for Taiwan at this moment.
On Earth Day in 2021, President Tsai Ing-wen declared Taiwan would try to achieve net-zero by 2050. Comprehensive electrification of the transportation sector is an essential phase in the energy transition process.
President Biden declared that the US aims to achieve a 50% market share for electric vehicles in new car sales by 2030.
Electric vehicles play a crucial role in achieving net-zero carbon emissions. At the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference, goals were set for net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 and a 50% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030. Given that ICE vehicles have long been seen as a major contributor to carbon emissions, leading automobile nations, starting with the European Union, have set deadlines to ban their sale. The alternative is electric vehicles, which have no emissions and are relatively early in their development stage.
The European Parliament approved a law banning the sale of ICE vehicles by 2035, which means pure electric vehicles (BEVs) that do not have internal combustion engines will become mainstream and gradually replace fossil fuel vehicles. The European market has promoted electric vehicles vigorously. Norway has become the country with the highest electric vehicle market share in Europe and the world. In 2022, 79.3% of new vehicles in the Norwegian market were electric vehicles, and the government plans to completely ban the sale of ICE vehicles by 2025. Norway will be the first country to achieve “emissions-free transportation” and serve as an indicator of electric vehicle adoption.
In 2022, 10.52 million electric vehicles were sold worldwide, accounting for 13.5% of all new vehicle sales. According to Taiwan’s Automotive Research and Testing Center (ARTC), an electric vehicle sales market share of over 10% can be seen as a critical market signal. This is similar to what happened with LCD televisions in 2004 and smartphones in 2008 — both experienced explosive growth shortly after breaking the 10% market share threshold.
The situation in Taiwan is different. In 2022, of 429,731 new vehicles sold, only 16,120 were full electric vehicles, accounting for 3.75% of the total. While this was a historical high for Taiwan, it still fell short of the global average. Compared to the nearly 80% market share in Norway, Taiwan and Norway are on the two extremes on the spectrum of electric vehicle adoption.
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