Timeline The Rapid Incline in EV Adoption

We’ve featured some exciting company names in Sustainability Magazine of recent. With so many global innovations in e-mobility, we take a look at the history of electric vehicles, championed by sustainable startups and some of the leading automotive organisations that are leveraging modern electric car manufacturing — the main focus for automotive giants along with renewable energy adoption.

1996

General Motors takes to electric

With multiple vehicle brands roaming the roads, General Motors was responsible for a significant stage in the EV industry. The release of the EV1. The production line was very small with only 2,500 of them produced and sold to customers in California and Arizona, US

2003

The Tesla makes its debut

In 2003, Tesla revealed its EV offering, the Tesla Roadster. The model was unveiled in Santa Monica, California and production began soon after in 2008 with 10 of the cars reaching customers in the state

2011

Nissan brings lowerpriced EVs

The release of the Nissan Leaf was perhaps a more noticeable development for consumers as, compared to Tesla, it catered for customers with lower budgets. The company went public in 2011 and has since sold more than 31,400 of the model. Nissan began selling the Leaf alongside Chevrolet, as its Volt model entered the market

2018

Electric vehicles reach sales milestone

With EV adoption increasing among consumers, sales reached one million units in Europe during the first half of 2018. This was slightly later than the global figure for vans as sales exceeded one million in 2016

2022

Electric vehicles reach sales milestone

Following the commitments made by automotive manufacturers, their are now many more EV options on the market. In February 2022, the EVs and hybrids made up around 27.5% of the global automotive market, with EVs responsible for an 11.6% market share