What’s next for electric cars and trucks?

About this episode

The automotive industry has faced major challenges in recent years, from pandemic-driven supply chain shocks to inflation and geopolitical uncertainty. But amid the turmoil, global sales of electric vehicles have continued to break records. 

In 2024, more than one in five cars sold globally were electric, and this year it's expected to be one in four. In some parts of the world, EVs are now cheaper than conventional cars. But what's driving these trends? Who's making these cars? How are we charging them? And how is their uptake reshaping the world’s energy system? 

In this episode, we speak with IEA Energy Technology and Transport Analyst Elizabeth Connelly to answer these questions and unpack the 2025 edition of the IEA's annual Global EV Outlook, out now.

Speakers

More episodes

All episodes

  • How the energy crisis is reshaping investment

    As the energy crisis caused by disruptions to oil and gas flows through the Strait of Hormuz continues to unfold, how is it shifting energy investment priorities around the world? In this episode, two IEA experts – Energy Investment Unit head Cecilia Tam and energy investment analyst Kirsten Smith – dig into this question based on new insights from the World Energy Investment 2026 report. With energy security concerns front and centre – and with many countries increasingly looking to meet demand with domestic energy sources – they discuss the implications across different sectors, including oil, gas, coal, nuclear, renewables and electricity. They also speak about how investment in energy efficiency is evolving and how the crisis could affect the cost of capital for energy projects.
    Read more
    Listen
    19 min • 4 June 2026

  • The forgotten giant of electricity

    Hydropower is the third largest source of power generation globally, producing roughly as much electricity as solar and wind combined. Yet despite its huge role in electricity systems around the world, it is often left out of conversations on energy.  In this episode, IEA renewable energy analyst Yasmina Abdelilah explains how the role of hydropower in electricity systems has evolved in recent decades. With electricity demand surging around the world, she highlights the benefits hydropower could deliver across both advanced and emerging economies and discusses what is needed to overcome key barriers.
    Read more
    Listen
    18 min • 21 May 2026

  • The relationship between energy and AI is evolving rapidly

    A lot has happened since the IEA published its landmark report last year on what artificial intelligence could mean for global electricity demand and its potential to reshape how energy systems work. The tech sector has poured hundreds of billions of dollars of additional investment into AI, while the technology itself and the ways in which it’s used have continued to develop rapidly. At the same time, the deployment of AI is increasingly constrained by a range of physical bottlenecks, including for energy, raising questions about the rate at which it can expand in the near term. In this episode, IEA analysts Siddharth Singh and Thomas Spencer – the lead authors of a new report on energy and AI – unpack these developments and their implications. They explain what energy and AI’s special relationship looks like in 2026 and how it could evolve in the years ahead.
    Read more
    Listen
    29 min • 7 May 2026