The 2024 global EV market is off to the races

PHEV power play 

In January 2024, 53.3 GWh of battery capacity were deployed onto roads globally in all newly sold passenger EVs combined, down 32% from the record set in December, but up 64% or 20.1 GWh over January of last year. 

The global EV market is heavily skewed towards the final months of the year and on a monthly basis, December has consistently seen the greatest number of GWh added to the global EV parc each year of the last four. 

Full electric vehicle (BEV) sales lagged the market’s overall growth in January with combined battery capacity deployment expanding by 51% year-on-year to 42.5 GWh. Sequentially, January’s BEV power hours added to the world’s highways and byways represented a 36% decline compared to December highs. 

The standout feature of the month was the blistering performance of plug-in hybrids, or PHEVs. New owners of PHEVs steered 10.3 GWh of fresh power hours onto global roads in January, a 150% jump compared to the same month the year prior.  

January 2024 was the second best on record in terms of the combined battery capacity installed in newly sold PHEVs, only exceeded by December of last year when 11.8 GWh of PHEV battery power hit roads.   

The combined battery capacity of conventional and mild hybrids (HEVs) deployed globally in January was up 36% year on year to 0.6 GWh but down 1% compared to to the month prior. HEV battery capacity deployment hit a peak in March last year, Adamas data shows. 

Adamas take:

The pace at which GWhs are added to the world’s plug-in hybrid fleet is only accelerating into 2024 after a nearly 80% year on year jump during calendar 2023.  

The attendant rise in average PHEV battery pack size, up 22% last year in kWh terms, is helping sustain strong demand growth for battery metals and cells as EV buyers in some markets increasingly favor PHEVs over BEVs.