The line graph illustrates how many electric cars were sold in China, the United States, Norway and India between 2012 and 2022, in thousands.
Overall, sales rose in all four countries, but China's growth was far greater than that of the others and it became the clear market leader. India remained negligible for most of the period.
China began with just 10,000 sales in 2012, behind the United States at 50,000. It overtook the Americans between 2014 and 2016, with 260,000 against 160,000 in 2016, and then expanded rapidly to 780,000 in 2018 and 1,200,000 in 2020. In 2022 it reached 4,400,000, an enormous figure compared with the other countries.
The United States grew more slowly, from 50,000 to 120,000 in 2014 and 360,000 in 2018. Sales slipped to 300,000 in 2020 but recovered strongly to 630,000 in 2022.
Norway, a much smaller market, saw a steadier increase from 5,000 in 2012 to 60,000 in 2018, 100,000 in 2020 and 130,000 in 2022. India had only 1,000 sales in 2014 and just 5,000 in 2020, though sales jumped to 40,000 in 2022.