Abstract:

This briefing identifies 20 cities with the highest electric vehicle uptake through 2016 and examines the associated local policies, incentives, and infrastructure that have helped spur electric vehicle sales growth. In this briefing, the authors provide an update on the global electric vehicle capitals—that is, the cities leading the transition to electric drive with greater sales and sales shares than other markets. They assess electric vehicle sales in these markets through 2016, identify innovative electric vehicle support policies in these markets, and compare their charging infrastructure. In this analysis, electric vehicles include both battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles. They also analyze markets at the metropolitan area level because of the regional nature of household travel patterns, to account for the effects of infrastructure and policy beyond the urban city center, and to allow more consistent comparisons across markets. This briefing is focused on light-duty passenger vehicles.