Electric vehicles are hitting the road, and the International Energy Agency, an advisory council to energy-consuming countries, projects the world will have 125 million electric cars by 2030. Investors can also can targeted exposure to this growth through sector-specific exchange traded fund strategies.
In a little more than two decades, electric vehicle, or EV, ownership will surge to about 125 million, supported by policies that encourage drivers, fleets and municipalities to purchase clean-running cars, CNBC reported.
To put this in perspective, the IEA estimated in 2017 there were 3.1 million electric vehicles in use, up 54% from the previous year.
In contrast, global forecasts put the world’s total fossil fuel-powered car count at roughly 2 billion somewhere between 2035 to 2040.
220 Million Electric Vehicles by 2030
The IEA, though, also sees a way for the EV industry to pump out 220 million electric vehicles by 2030 if global economies take on a more aggressive approach to combat climate change and to cut emissions than currently planned.
“The uptake of electric vehicles is still largely driven by the policy environment,” the IEA said in the report. “The 10 leading countries in electric vehicle adoption all have a range of policies in place to promote the uptake of electric cars.”
Given the policies in place today, China and Europe will be among the biggest adopters of EVs. In China, credits and subsidies could help EVs grow to over a quarter of the car market by 2030. In the mean time, tightening emissions standards and high fuel taxes across Europe could make EVs account for 23% of the market.
“Dynamic market uptake of electric vehicles has occurred in recent years,” the IEA said in a report. “Ongoing support and commitments for increased deployment of EVs from policy makers and the automotive industry suggest that this trend is not going to abate in the coming decade.”
To access this quickly developing market, investors have a number of electric vehicle-specific ETF options to choose from, including the KraneShares Electric Vehicles and Future Mobility ETF (NYSEArca: KARS), Global X Autonomous & Electric Vehicles ETF (NasdaqGM: DRIV) and Innovation Shares NextGen Vehicles & Technology ETF (NYSEArca: EKAR). Investors may also find exposure to traditional car makers through the First Trust NASDAQ Global Auto Index Fund (NasdaqGM: CARZ).
For more information on the car industry, visit our automobiles category.