Energy
Middle East: The Capital of Concentrated Wealth
Middle East: The Capital of Concentrated Wealth
For much of history, the Middle East has been the capital of concentrated wealth. Whether it is oil, gold, or empires, the cradle of civilization has always been a place of opulence.
It all started early, with the Persian empire under Cyrus the Great. In the armory and treasury at Persepolis was a hefty 120,000 talents of bullion. That made the stash a sizable 115 million oz in total. The Umayyad Caliphate continued the trend by building the biggest empire at the time, which spanned from Spain and Morocco all the way to modern day Pakistan. That’s 5.1 million sq. miles.
Today, the Middle East still has concentrated wealth. The WSJ found that Middle East billionaire wealth grew 12.4% in 2013. Perhaps even more impressive: for every ten barrels of oil in world reserves, Middle Eastern countries in OPEC have eight. A country such as Kuwait, which is half the size of Maryland, has the 6th highest reserves in the world and is producing almost 3 million barrels a day.
Original infographic from: Master of Finance
Energy
Ranked: Electric Vehicle Sales by Model in 2023
Today, electric vehicle sales make up 18% of global vehicle sales. Here are the leading models by sales as of August 2023.
Ranked: Electric Vehicle Sales by Model in 2023
Electric vehicle (EV) sales are gaining momentum, reaching 18% of global vehicle sales in 2023.
As new competitors bring more affordable options and new performance features, the market continues to mature as customers increasingly look to electric options.
This graphic ranks the top-selling EVs worldwide as of August 2023, based on data from CleanTechnica.
The Best Selling EVs in 2023 (Through August)
Below, we show the world’s best selling fully electric vehicles from January to August 2023:
| Model | Country | Vehicles Sold (Jan-Aug 2023) |
|---|---|---|
| Tesla Model Y | 🇺🇸 U.S. | 772,364 |
| Tesla Model 3 | 🇺🇸 U.S. | 364,403 |
| BYD Atto 3 / Yuan Plus | 🇨🇳 China | 265,688 |
| BYD Dolphin | 🇨🇳 China | 222,825 |
| GAC Aion S | 🇨🇳 China | 160,693 |
| Wuling HongGuang Mini EV | 🇨🇳 China | 153,399 |
| GAC Aion Y | 🇨🇳 China | 136,619 |
| VW ID.4 | 🇩🇪 Germany | 120,154 |
| BYD Seagull | 🇨🇳 China | 95,202 |
As we can see, Tesla‘s Model Y still holds a comfortable lead over the competition with 772,364 units sold. That’s more than double the sales of the #2 top selling vehicle, Tesla’s Model 3 (364,403)
But it’s hard to ignore the rising prevalence of Chinese EVs. The next five best selling EV vehicles are Chinese, including three from BYD. The automaker’s Atto 3 (or Yuan Plus, depending on market), is being sold in various countries including Germany, the UK, Japan, and India.
Meanwhile, Chinese automaker GAC Group also had two models of its Aion EV brand make the rankings, with the Aion S selling 160,693 units so far.
Regional market strength is also clear. For Volkswagen’s ID.4 model (120,154 units sold), Europe and China account for the majority of sales.
Given growing cost efficiencies and changing consumer behavior, global EV sales are projected to make up half of new car sales globally by 2035, according to forecasts from Goldman Sachs.
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