Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/878567
11 maltatoday, SUNDAY, 24 SEPTEMBER 2017 News Continental Cars Ltd, said that the govern- ment – and Transport Malta – also needed to stop, or reduce, the influx of second-hand cars from the UK and Japan. "The government and TM need to give more financial incentives to persuade people to buy electric vehicles," he said. "[They] have to lead by example." He also urged the Malta College of Arts, Sci- ence and Technology (MCAST) to start train- ing their pupils in the maintenance and repair of electric vehicles and the support infrastruc- ture. Cauchi said that Malta's infrastructure was already quite advanced with regard to charg- ing points, but said that these points would need to be replaced with fast-charging sta- tions. Enforcement of laws and regulations should also be a priority for the administration. "Police and wardens should penalise those who park their (fuel) vehicles on these electric charging points," he said. As to whether the auto brands that Conti- nental Cars represents are gearing up for the demand in electric cars and the future restric- tions on the sale of petrol- and diesel-driven vehicles, Cauchi said the carmaker was very much in sync with market demands and pres- sures. "Volkswagen Group are well-prepared and already have quite a few exciting electrical models ready to be launched in the EU," he said. Continental Cars represents Volkswa- gen, Audi, Porsche and Seat, which have all launched, or announced, electric models in their ranges. Cauchi said that car importers would also be affected by the switch to electric vehicle sales. "The government should financially incen- tivise or support importers for the huge in- vestments that we have to do when it comes to special tooling and training," he said. THE worldwide adoption of electric vehicles has been expanding rapidly in recent years. In December 2016, the cumulative global sales of highway legal plug-in electric passenger cars and light utility vehicles achieved the two million unit milestone. 38% of those were sold in 2016 alone. That feat was even more impressive when one considers that the one million milestone had only been reached in September last year. As of December 2016, China had the world's largest stock of highway legal light-duty plug-in electric vehicles with cumulative sales of more than 645,000 plug-in electric passenger cars. This represents 43% of the global stock of light-duty plug-in vehicles in use today. Europe was gaining serious traction in the sale and use of electric vehicles, with more than 637,000 light-duty plug-in electric passenger cars regis- tered by December 2016, representing 31.4% of global sales. As of December 2016, sales in the European light-duty plug-in electric segment were led by Norway with over 135,000 units registered, followed by the Netherlands with more than 113,000 units and France with over 108,000 units. Norway is the country with the high- est market penetration per capita in the world, as well as the country with the largest plug-in electric segment market share of new car sales (29.1% in 2016). 135,000 plug-in cars were registered in Norway as of December 2016, with a market concentration of 21.5 reg- istered plug-in cars per 1,000 people, 3.6 times higher than California's, the leading American market, and exceed- ing the US average concentration by 14.2 times. By the end of 2016, 5% of all vehicles on Norwegian roads were plug-in electric. The Netherlands, while having Eu- rope's second largest plug-in stock, has seen sales stagnant in recent years. France, with the third most plug-in electric vehicles in Europe is the largest European market for light-duty electric commercial vehicles or utility vans, ac- counting for nearly half of all such vans sold in the EU. Denmark, which had been the second largest market for plug-in electric vans (2,600 units, primarily plug-in hybrids), has seen its EV market penetration plunge to 0.1% as of July 2017 due to the resumption of its high vehicle taxes on electric vehicles. Global electric vehicle market Concentration of EVs per 1,000 people (2016) USA average Sweden Netherlands California Norway 1.51 2.42 5.63 5.83 21.52 Top-selling EVs global markets (Dec. 2016) cumulative sales