What's going on?

A new study showed that electric vehicles (EVs) will outsell traditional cars five years earlier than expected � whether carmakers should choose to accept it or not.

What does this mean?

According to Ernst & Young (EY), the combined sales of EVs across the world�s three biggest car markets � Europe, China, and the US � will outpace gas-powered cars by 2033 (tweet this). Individually, though, they�ll hit that tipping point at different times: Europe in 2028, China five years later, and the US coming up the rear in 2036.

The milestone � dubbed �global EV supremacy� � is five years earlier than EY had previously predicted, which probably has something to do with more interest from drivers, as well as governments� increasingly anti-emission stances. And the surprises didn�t stop there: EY said non-EV sales will represent less than 1% of the global car market by 2045, as more and more countries outright ban gas-guzzling jalopies.

Why should I care?

The bigger picture: It�s not just governments.
Carmakers are starting to lean into the inevitability of it all too. Take Honda: the Japanese conglomerate announced this week that it�ll completely phase out sales of traditional cars by 2040. It�s even staking a claim in the electric motorbike market, with plans to unveil three new all-electric models by 2024. Compare that to rival Japanese carmaker Toyota, which is still convinced that hybrid cars are the way forward.

For markets: When it rains, it pours.
There were two other big EV stories on Wednesday: Chinese EV-maker Xpeng Motors � which is already listed on the US stock market � announced plans to list on Hong Kong�s stock market via an initial public offering that could raise the company up to $2 billion. Then there was Embark Trucks: the company � which, deceptively, doesn�t manufacture EV trucks but their self-driving software � said it�ll be going public by merging with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) in a $5 billion deal.