A respected German non-profit foundation, Zentrum für Sonnenenergie- und Wasserstoff-Forschung (ZSW) Baden-Württemberg, (Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research) has reported that there are now more than 400,000 electrically powered automobiles in use worldwide and that the figure is projected to grow to one million by 2016.

The electric vehicle count doubled over the twelve months of last year with 200,000 new vehicles being put on the roads. Nearly 50% of the world’s electric cars (174,000) are in use in the United States. Other leading countries for use of electric vehicles are, in order from the highest: Japan, China, France, Netherlands, Norway, and Germany. The authors note that countries with incentive programs have taken the lead in electric mobility. Lead manufacturers, in terms of number of vehicles on the road, are Nissan, General Motors, and Toyota.

The study considers only battery electric vehicles (BEV), plug-in hybrids (PHEV), and battery electric vehicles with a range extender (ReX). Regular hybrid electric vehicles are not included in the count.

A link to a summary of the report in English is available at http://www.zsw-bw.de/en/support/news/news-detail/weltweit-ueber-400000-elektroautos-unterwegs.html