[THE INVESTOR] The global electric vehicle market is predicted to grow around 60 percent this year and next year amid global efforts to boost the green car industry, according to market data Tuesday.

According to Japanese market research firm B3, the volume of the global electric car battery market is expected to grow 66 percent this year to 16,000 kilowatt-hours from the previous year. This is a 23 times increase over the past seven years, compared to 1,140 kilowatt-hours in 2010. The figure is again predicted to be 26,000 kilowatt-hours, up by 57 percent in 2017. 

The research firm also said in another report that the global electric car battery market sold 550,000 units last year alone -- which amounted to 6.4 trillion won ($5.5 billion) -- a 70 percent increase from the previous year. It is also predicted threefold growth to 18 trillion won by 2020.

Of the total 550,000 units sold last year globally, 210,000 units were shipped in China, which emerged as the largest market thanks to state subsidies and tax breaks from the government.

The Korean government also recently announced its ambitious plan to replace 30 percent of new cars with green vehicles by 2020, although it doesn’t appear to be an easily attainable mark without sufficient support.

Last year, the accumulative sales of electric vehicles came to 4,330 units, 0.3 percent of global EV sales.

Korea also ranked 13th among 16 nations that participated in the electric vehicle initiative -- a project undertaken by the Clean Energy Ministerial -- designed to boost electric car sales. This is largely due to the lack of subsidies and infrastructure such as charging stations.

“The surge of the global EV market can be both opportunity as well as threat to Korean automakers. In order to boost the industry, the government should lift regulations on companies and provide more financial support to the consumers,” said Kim Pil-soo, an automotive engineering professor at Daelim University.

By Shin Ji-hye(shinjh@heraldcorp.com)