Electrifying Resilience: COVID-19 Impact Analysis on the Electr

• Posted by Pramod Kumar November 21, 2023 - Filed in Business - #COVID-19 impact analysis  #global market outlook  #electric vehicle industry  #market resilience  - 293 views

  Due to the rising pollution and increasing public awareness about the toxic emissions released from fossil fuel-powered vehicles, the global electric vehicle market has observed a sharp surge in recent years. Moreover, the enhanced safety and comfort provided by the electric vehicles and the implementation of several favorable government initiatives in many countries have caused the rapid advancement of the market during the last few years, especially from 2014 to 2019.

  Due to this expansion, the global electric car fleet in 2019 recorded a growth of over 40% from 2018 and later surpassed 7.2 million units at the end of the year. According to reports, 2.1 million units of electric vehicles were sold all over the world in 2019. Many industry experts predicted that 2020 would be an even better year for the market. However, the COVID-19 pandemic had other plans.

  Due to the rising number of COVID infections, the governments of many countries implemented complete or partial lockdowns for reducing the spread of the virus. This resulted in the shutting down of manufacturing plants and caused disruptions in the global supply chain. Moreover, the closing down of vehicle showrooms and the loss of jobs caused a sharp fall in the worldwide sales of electric vehicles. As a result, the industry is now expected to fall by nearly 15% in 2020.

  According to the forecast of the market research firm, P&S Intelligence, the market would register a fall of as much as 43% from the previously expected pre-COVID forecast for 2020. Furthermore, the sales of electric vehicles would fall to only 1.8 million units in 2020, which is a considerable reduction from the global sales observed in 2019. China, which is the biggest electric vehicle market in the world, recorded a huge fall in electric vehicle sales because of COVID.

  In China, the decline in the sales of electric vehicles were the highest in February, with the total sale of electric cars recording a plunge of almost 60% from the sale witnessed in the February of the previous year. The country witnessed the sale of only 16,000 units in February 2020. However, the situation improved slightly in April, with electric vehicle sales reaching nearly 80% of the sales witnessed in April 2019.

  Furthermore, in May, the sales of plug-in cars were down by 32% than the May 2019 number. According to many reports, the market would witness an overall fall of 14% in 2020 in China. Similarly, the electric vehicle industry in the U.S. has also been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the growing number of COVID cases and unsuccessful lockdown efforts, the demand for electric vehicle is predicted to fall steeply in the country in 2020.

  Hence, it is safe to say from the above paragraphs that the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected the progress of the market and as a result, the market would now fall sharply all over the world in the coming months. However, the market would rebound strongly once the COVID situation improves and start exhibiting rapid expansion throughout the world.