A few countries have actually imposed strict efficiency norms; however, generally, they have not gone out to require automakers to offer electric vehicles.

In the U.S., only California has a zero-emissions vehicle law that puts such a requirement on carmakers.

However, even without such formal orders, automakers may soon be compelled to legitimately offer extensive quantities of electric cars just to meet the new efficiency rules.

That is the decision of a study distributed this June by the World Energy Council (WEC), which contends that automakers will require a considerable number of electric automobiles for the foreseeable future.

Among the major focuses in the full study is a forecast, prediction, if you will, that approximately 16 percent of vehicles sold in 2020 will be electric, keeping in mind the end goal to meet new emissions guidelines.

The study is focused on how to lower emissions standards for the U.S., China, and the European Union—the world’s three biggest auto markets, with all the expected mileage upgrades that can be accomplished with traditional internal combustion engines alone.

By the WEC’s estimation, we could see huge volumes of electric vehicle sales. It can be expected that this will plug an “EV Gap” between new mileage targets and the changes that can be practically anticipated and achieved from traditional internal combustion engines.

In the U.S., it means 0.9 million autos, or 11 percent of the assessed 2020 new-auto sales, must adhere to such laws.

For China, the hole is 5.3 million autos (22 percent of 2020 sales), while in the European Union it is pegged at 1.4 million (10 percent of sales). However, significantly increasing electric-car sales will not be easy, as electric-car adoption is still hampered by consumer concern over cost and range anxiety, the study notes.

El WEC sugiere programas “motivadores” ampliados como una estrategia para generar más ventas de autos eléctricos e incentivos para los compradores.

Se ha pronosticado que la demanda energética anual expandida de los nuevos vehículos eléctricos será igual o inferior al 0,5 por ciento de la demanda energética total de 2014 en los tres mercados examinados por el estudio.

Para 2020, cada uno de los tres mercados debería sumar algunos sectores manufactureros adicionales para manejar mayores volúmenes de vehículos eléctricos, según indica también el estudio.

It says electric vehicles will soon require an extra 4.5 terawatt hours in the U.S., 3.7 TWh in the EU, and 26.2 TWh in China. That refers to power and efficiency in the cars.

The most uplifting news from the report is that such an expansion in electric-vehicle selection would raise worldwide power use by only half a percent. The less positive news is that the US, Europe, and China would all need to manufacture extra power-producing sources in order to meet the end goal: meeting that 16-percent figure for electric-vehicle sales.

To put all these rates and science talk into perspective, Navigant Research a year ago said Americans will purchase 7.4 million “module light-utility vehicles” somewhere around 2015 and 2024, an average of about 740,000 a year. A year ago, Americans purchased around 17.5 million vehicles, showing that even Navigant’s hopeful gauge would leave the US well shy of that 11 percent of new-vehicle sales, even while incorporating module-based hybrids.