The United States is shifting to electric vehicles more slowly than China and Europe, and even some emerging markets, prompting warnings it could be pushed into a latecomer position in the global race to electrify vehicles.

CleanTechnica reported on Sept. 30 that battery electric vehicles accounted for 5.9 percent of the U.S. new-car market in the first half of this year. China rose to about 45 percent in August and Europe to 26 percent in July, widening the gap with the United States. Uruguay also posted a 51 percent BEV share of new-car sales in August.

The United States was once among the countries that led the electric-vehicle market. Tesla grew in the United States, and GM's EV1 and the Chevrolet Bolt and Bolt EV appeared early. California also led adoption through emissions regulations and electric-vehicle support policies. Recently, however, EV sales have expanded rapidly in China as well as parts of Asia and South America, while U.S. growth has slowed.

The outlet pointed to high U.S. trade barriers, policy changes and automakers cutting investment as reasons. It said competitively priced Chinese-made electric vehicles are effectively unable to enter the U.S. market, limiting consumer choice.

Canada, by contrast, scrapped the 100 percent additional tariff it had applied to Chinese-made electric vehicles in March this year. It introduced a quota allowing up to 49,000 vehicles a year to be imported at a 6.1 percent tariff. With more markets seeking to leverage the competitiveness of Chinese electric vehicles, North America is showing diverging policy directions.

The outlet said that if the current trend continues for a long time, the United States could become one of the slowest major auto markets to electrify. It added that this was not an official forecast based on long-term sales estimates but an analysis based on recent market trends. The direction of the U.S. electric-vehicle market could change depending on policy, vehicle prices, charging infrastructure and automakers' new-model strategies.