Electric car sales are trending upward in Europe. Data from the UN Economic Commission for Europe, Unece, also reveals that sales of electric cars on the European continent already account for 10% of market share. But forecasts from the International Energy Agency indicate that this percentage could rise to 19% by 2025.

It is known that during the UN Climate Change Conference, COP26, 24 countries including the UK, Canada, and New Zealand, and several car manufacturers such as Ford, Mercedes, and Volvo signed an agreement to end the sale of fossil-fuel vehicles by 2040.

Nevertheless, Unece points out that consumers still have many doubts about the performance of electric car batteries over time and whether the investment is really worth it.

But the Commission believes this could change thanks to a proposed regulation to guarantee a minimum battery life for electric and hybrid cars.

Regulating the issue of battery degradation is the first international initiative of its kind, which has already received support from nations such as Canada, China, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the regional bloc European Union.

The proposal calls for manufacturers to ensure that electric vehicle batteries lose only 20% of their initial capacity in the first five years or when the car completes 100,000 km.

In the medium term, the idea is that the batteries will lose less than 30% of capacity in eight years or with 160,000 km driven.

Unece explains that the measure will help avoid the use of low quality batteries, ensuring the installation of only those with high durability.

According to the UN Commission, the measure is crucial to increase consumer confidence and improve the performance of electric vehicles.

The proposal will be voted on in March 2022 and the countries that endorse the initiative must include the measure in their national legislation and set a deadline for the change to take place, but Unece believes that the first results could be seen as early as 2023.

Source UN News