Electric Car Imports Surge Globally, Representing Over a Third of Total Imports by 2023

Chennai: Globally, the import of electric cars has jumped from 1 per cent in 2017 to more than a third of all car imports by 2023, finds the World Trade Organisation.

Import data between 2017 and 2023 show a dramatic shift towards electric vehicles in general. Initially, hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and battery electric vehicles represented a modest fraction of total car imports by value, starting at about 2.5 per cent, 0.8 per cent and 1 per cent, respectively. However, trade of EVs has grown significantly since then.

By the end of 2023, EVs accounted for more than a third of all car imports in value terms. Although the growth rate appeared to slow down in 2023, the pronounced upward trend for EVs, particularly battery EVs, signifies a substantial change in demand and could suggest the direction in which the global automotive industry may go in the future.

Hybrids and plug-in hybrids have shown consistent growth, with hybrids initially experiencing more dynamic growth post-2020. However, battery EVs exhibited the highest growth, with a steep increase in import share post-2020, bringing the value of imports close to that of hybrids and indicating a significant shift towards fully electric models.

In 2023 the United States was the leading global importer of EVs, with battery, hybrid and plug-in hybrid EVs recording imports of $19 billion, nearly $17.8 billion and $ 6.9 billion, respectively. These figures represent more than one-fifth of total US car imports by value and signal an increasing adoption of electric mobility.

Imports of EVs also grew considerably in some European countries and in the Republic of Korea. Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland have reached a tipping point at which the import value of electric cars has overtaken that of traditional internal combustion engine vehicles. As Belgium and the Netherlands are home to the two busiest ports in Europe, they may act as a transit point into other European countries.

Around 40 economies out of 123 apply lower duties on battery EVs than on internal combustion engine vehicles, and that the remaining economies apply equal duties on both types of cars. This tariff structure suggests that some WTO members are orienting policies to promote the adoption of battery and hybrid EVs in preference to internal combustion engine cars, while other members do not differentiate in their tariff treatment and may instead be using other types of policies, such as subsidies or technical regulations to promote such adoption.