Electric Vehicles in the World Mapped

An electric vehicle is a vehicle that uses o electric motors for drive. 

The first electric vehicles came into life in the mid 19th century, when electricity was amongst the favored methods for motor vehicle propulsion, giving convenience and ease of maintenance that could not be accomplished by the gasoline vehicles of the time. 

In the 21st century, electric vehicles have seen a resurgence due to technological progress and grown focus on renewable energy and the likely decrease of transportation's impact on climate change and other environmental problems.

Landgeist made exciting maps showing how popular electric vehicles are in Europe and the United States. The data came from the European Environment Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy.

Electric vehicles in Europe

A brief look at the map already reveals that electric cars are trendy in just a small number of European nations. Norway, the Netherlands, Iceland, Sweden, and Luxembourg have far more electric vehicles per capita than any other European nation. 

In just three countries, the number of registered electric cars accounts for more than 4% of the total number of registered vehicles: Norway (42 percent), the Netherlands (15 percent), and Iceland (8 percent).

One nation that stands out more than any other country is Norway. They have more electric vehicles per capita than any other nation in Europe. They also have the second-highest number of total registered electric cars (60,008), just behind Germany (60,192). For a nation with a population of 5.3 million, that's pretty remarkable.

One of the causes electric cars are so prevalent in Norway is the Norwegian government's incentives and privileges on electric vehicles. Including significant discounts in purchase and road tax.

Electric vehicles in the United States

A lot of U.S. states have a far higher rate of electric vehicles than most European nations. 

It might not come as a wonder that California is the U.S. state with the most significant number of registered electric cars per 100,000 people. Moreover, California doesn’t just have the highest number of electric vehicles per 100,000 people and in absolute numbers with 256,800 electric vehicles. Forty-seven percent of electric vehicles in the United States are registered in California. But California still looks no match for Norway, which has a whopping 1,116 electric vehicles per 100,000 people despite its high rate.

Other U.S. states with a high rate of electric vehicles are Hawaii (464), Washington (377), and Oregon (296). Washington is also the U.S. state with the second-highest number of registered electric cars.

The numbers on this map correlate with electric vehicle-related laws and incentives in each U.S. state. California has far more regulations and incentives related to electric vehicles, making it no wonder that they also have the most significant electric cars in the U.S.