Electric cars started as a novelty. However, the days of charging your tiny little city cars up and praying you could do your 25-mile round-trip commute on one charge are well and truly gone. EVs are here to stay, to the dislike of many, it seems to be the only way governments can keep the big wigs from their respective environmental agencies happy.

Despite so many government incentives across the globe and a myriad of EV models being launched by all the top manufacturers, the EV lifestyle is still a hard sell to some die-hard internal combustion users. We all have our opinions and reasons as to why EVs do or don't work. The only certain thing is that there's no slowing down EV movement.

2023 promised to be a huge EV year. So far, it's been delivering. Not only with the vehicles and sales figures being disclosed but also with some huge movements in the realms of charging infrastructure, the issue that previously served as the Achilles heel of EV ownership. Here are some of the takeaways of EVs in 2023 so far, and what we can expect to see in the second half of the year.

Electric Vehicle Sales Show No Sign of Slowing Down

Battery-powered electric vehicles take up 10 percent of the entire market for passenger vehicles worldwide. Globally plugging Vehicle registrations were up 70 percent YTD this year according to research done by CleanTechnica. Out of the entire plug-in vehicle segment, fully electric battery-powered vehicles made up 70 percent of all plug-in car sales.

Between January and April this year over 350,000 Tesla Model Y's were registered and also an additional 170,000 Model 3's. A market that is very interesting for EV manufacturers is of course; China. As one of the world's largest consumers of just about any kind of product Chinese EV manufacturers have also been trying to dominate their respective markets.

The Chinese domestic market brand "BYD" takes up four of the top six spots in the most populous selling electric vehicles. In fact, apart from the two Tesla models the other eight top 10 best-selling EVs and plug-in hybrids are all Chinese domestic products. This huge boom in EVs especially in China is a sign that they are now a prospect of global appeal.

This could be down to somewhat of a herd mentality system in place. More and more people are experimenting with EVs as daily cars or as limousines, and they're working. Then, through word of mouth or extremely well-worded and clever marketing and advertising, more people are taking the plunge into EV simply because they've seen it work for others. This exponential growth and popularity in the electric vehicle segment show no signs of slowing down for the rest of 2023.

Legacy Auto Manufacturers Are Investing More into EVs

10 years ago, there were no mainstream Legacy car manufacturers making fully electric vehicles. The world was taken by storm by the hybrid Toyota Prius, a groundbreaking passenger car that still to this day is extremely popular among the mileage consumption conscious. And then rumblings began of this small California-based startup named Tesla.

Tesla hit the ground running. When the Model S was announced to this day it was probably the best-received electric vehicle yet. It was groundbreaking. Simply like nothing that had ever come before it, it didn't take much to get the public interested in the brand and the rest was history. The next few years will be Tesla dominated segment for EVs. However, now almost every legacy manufacturer is making an electric vehicle.

After the countless government-imposed taxis and restrictions on emissions, it makes more sense now than ever to plunge investment into batteries and electric vehicle Powertrain development. The thing is, all the top manufacturers are late to the game, but some are making up solid ground. Tesla has developed a solid fleet of cars, a loyal fan base, and most importantly a strong charging infrastructure. Legacy manufacturers need this investment because they are desperately trying to catch up. And right now, some of them are doing better than others, but it's a sign that there's no stopping this EV surge that is taking over the automotive space.

Charging Infrastructure and EV Battery Technology Continues To Improve

With this huge investment from pretty much every parent company of the big manufacturers that has been huge development and growth in the Battery Technology and charging space. This is essentially the most important thing for an electric vehicle. Everyone wants to know how quickly you can charge and how far you can travel on that single charge.

Right now, anything above 400 on a full charge is huge. And as for charging 0 to 80 percent and under 40 minutes is more than respectable for most EVs. But this is a new measure of success, manufacturers are fighting with each other to hold the title of longest range or fastest charge and this is spurring some friendly competition in the EV market.

The biggest problem with the current battery technology is making them affordable for the masses, and for brands to make them profitable. The Nissan Leaf is the only EV available for sale under $30,000, while the new tax credits and incentives can help bring the price of the base Tesla Model 3 lower than $20,000 in some US states. However, Ford says it won't build EVs with over 600 miles of range as they won't be economical for the consumer.

Companies such as Bentley or investing billions into developing their first-ever EV. They have no other choice. The world is moving on and if they are going to continue to make internal combustion engine vehicles only, in 10 years’ time they won't be able to sell them due to tightening regulations. Another hugely important aspect of EV ownership is the charging infrastructure itself.

Tesla has dominated the game with their supercharger system making them readily available almost everywhere across the US and many other parts of the globe however other manufacturers have a lot of catching up to do in this term, but they are getting there. It's a rather difficult task getting efficient charging infrastructure in place, but that has not stopped brands like Porsche, Volvo, and BMW from giving it a go. The most significant step recently was the announcement that Ford and Tesla have collaborated to allow Ford EV users access to Tesla's 12,000 Superchargers around the North America.

The main difference is quantity. There are far more Tesla supercharger stations than dedicated Volvo stations or BMW stations. For the most part, customers of these brands are having to use public charging stations for their EVs some of which aren't fast enough for the required needs, and are often always occupied. This is an essential development for the big brands, and it would make huge financial sense for someone like VW group to invest big in this section. We expect charging infrastructure re to develop rapidly with government help towards the end of this year.

Huge Incentive for Fleet Deals to Go All Electric

It's no news that for private passenger cars, the electric revolution has been well underway for the last five or six years. However, for business fleets like couriers, rental companies, and even delivery vehicles the progress on this front isn't quite as easy to work out.

This is set to change considerably this year as businesses are continually looking to limit any unnecessary carbon emissions from their operations, all of them are shooting for zero net carbon emissions whether this be as an incentive for customers or a government mandate. Even companies like Amazon are already trailing out vans by Rivian to much success. The ethos here is if the task can be carried out by an electric vehicle, then why shouldn't it be?