A plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) is any road vehicle that can utilize an external source of electricity (such as a wall socket that connects to the power grid) to store electrical energy within its onboard rechargeable battery packs, to power an electric motor and help propelling the wheels. PEV is a subset of electric vehicles, and includes all-electric/battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). Sales of the first series production plug-in electric vehicles began in December 2008 with the introduction of the plug-in hybrid BYD F3DM, and then with the all-electric Mitsubishi i-MiEV in July 2009, but global retail sales only gained traction after the introduction of the mass production all-electric Nissan Leaf and the plug-in hybrid Chevrolet Volt in December 2010.

Plug-in electric cars have several benefits compared to conventional internal combustion engine vehicles. All-electric vehicles have lower operating and maintenance costs, and produce little or no air pollution when under all-electric mode, thus (depending on the electricity source) reducing societal dependence on fossil fuels and significantly decreasing greenhouse gas emissions, but recharging takes longer time than refueling and is heavily reliant on sufficient charging infrastructures to remain operationally practical. Plug-in hybrid vehicles are a good in-between option that provides most of electric cars' benefits when they are operating in electric mode, though typically having shorter all-electric ranges, but have the auxiliary option of driving as a conventional hybrid vehicle when the battery is low, using its internal combustion engine (usually a gasoline engine) to alleviate the range anxiety that accompanies current electric cars.

Cumulative global sales of highway-legal plug-in electric passenger cars and light utility vehicles achieved the 1 million unit mark in September 2015, 5 million in December 2018. and the 10 million unit milestone in 2020. Despite the rapid growth experienced, however, the stock of plug-in electric cars represented just 1% of all passengers vehicles on the world's roads by the end of 2020, of which pure electrics constituted two thirds.

, the Tesla Model 3 ranked as the world's top selling highway-capable plug-in electric car in history, and also was the first electric car to achieve global sales of more than 1,000,000 units, The Mitsubishi Outlander P-HEV is the world's all-time best selling plug-in hybrid, with global sales of around 300,000 units through January 2022.

, China had the world's largest stock of highway legal plug-in electric passenger cars with 7.84 million units, representing 46% of the world's stock of plug-in cars. Europe ranked next with about 5.6 million light-duty plug-in cars and vans at the end of 2021, accounting for around 32% of the global stock. The U.S. cumulative sales totaled about 2.32 million plug-in cars through December 2021. , Germany is the leading European country with cumulative sales of 1 million plug-in vehicles on the road, and also has led the continent plug-in sales since 2019. Norway has the highest market penetration per capita in the world, and also achieved in 2021 the world's largest annual plug-in market share ever registered, 86.2% of new car sales.

Terminology

Plug-in electric vehicle
A plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) is any motor vehicle with rechargeable battery packs that can be charged from the electric grid, and the electricity stored on board drives or contributes to drive the wheels for propulsion. Plug-in electric vehicles are also sometimes referred to as grid-enabled vehicles (GEV), and the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) calls them electrically chargeable vehicles (ECV).

PEV is a subcategory of electric vehicles that includes battery electric vehicles (BEVs), plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs), and electric vehicle conversions of hybrid electric vehicles and conventional internal combustion engine vehicles. Even though conventional hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) have a battery that is continually recharged with power from the internal combustion engine and regenerative braking, they can not be recharged from an off-vehicle electric energy source, and therefore, they do not belong to the category of plug-in electric vehicles.

"Plug-in electric drive vehicle" is the legal term used in U.S. federal legislation to designate the category of motor vehicles eligible for federal tax credits depending on battery size and their all-electric range. In some European countries, particularly in France, "electrically chargeable vehicle" is the formal term used to designate the vehicles eligible for these incentives.
While the term "plug-in electric vehicle" most often refers to automobiles or "plug-in cars", there are several other types of plug-in electric vehicle, including battery electric multiple units, electric motorcycles and scooters, neighborhood electric vehicles or microcars, city cars, vans, buses, electric trucks or lorries, and military vehicles.

New energy vehicles

In China, the term new energy vehicles (NEVs) refers to automobile vehicles that are fully powered or predominantly powered by alternative energy other than fossil fuels, typically referring to electric motor-propelled vehicles such as battery electric vehicles (BEVs), plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) and fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs, mainly hydrogen vehicles). The Chinese Government began implementation of its NEV program in 2009 to foster the development and introduction of new energy vehicles, aiming to reduce the country's reliance on petroleum imports and better achieve energy security by promoting more electrified transportation powered by domestically generated, sustainable energy supply (see Energy policy of China).

Battery electric vehicles

A battery electric vehicle (BEV) uses chemical energy stored in rechargeable battery packs as its only source for propulsion. BEVs use electric motors and motor controllers instead of internal combustion engines (ICEs) for propulsion.

A plug-in hybrid operates as an all-electric vehicle or BEV when operating in charge-depleting mode, but it switches to charge-sustaining mode after the battery has reached its minimum state of charge (SOC) threshold, exhausting the vehicle's all-electric range (AER).

BEVs are all-electric vehicles that use only electricity to power the motor, with no internal combustion engine. The energy stored in the rechargeable battery pack is used to power the electric motor, which propels the vehicle. BEVs have no tailpipe emissions and can be charged by plugging into a charging station or using a home charging system.

They are known for their quiet operation, instant torque, and smooth ride, and are also more environmentally friendly than traditional gasoline-powered vehicles. However, the range of a BEV is limited by the size of its battery, so it may not be suitable for long-distance travel.

Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles

A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV or PHV), also known as a plug-in hybrid, is a hybrid electric vehicle with rechargeable batteries that can be restored to full charge by connecting a plug to an external electric power source. A plug-in hybrid shares the characteristics of both a conventional hybrid electric vehicle and an all-electric vehicle: it uses a gasoline engine and an electric motor for propulsion, but a PHEV has a larger battery pack that can be recharged, allowing operation in all-electric mode until the battery is depleted.

PHEVs are a hybrid between a traditional gasoline-powered vehicle and an all-electric vehicle. They have both an internal combustion engine and an electric motor powered by a rechargeable battery pack. PHEVs operate as all-electric vehicles when the battery has a sufficient charge, and switch to gasoline power when the battery is depleted.

This provides a longer driving range compared to a pure electric vehicle, as the gasoline engine acts as a range extender. PHEVs can be charged by plugging into a charging station or using a home charging system. They are a good option for those who want the benefits of electric driving, but also need the longer driving range and refueling convenience of a gasoline-powered vehicle.

Aftermarket conversions

An aftermarket electric vehicle conversion is the modification of a conventional internal combustion engine vehicle (ICEV) or hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) to electric propulsion, creating an all-electric or plug-in hybrid electric vehicle.

There are several companies in the U.S. offering conversions. The most common conversions have been from hybrid electric cars to plug-in hybrid, but due to the different technology used in hybrids by each carmaker, the easiest conversions are for 2004–2009 Toyota Prius and for the Ford Escape/Mercury Mariner Hybrid.

Advantages compared to ICE vehicles

PEVs have several advantages. These include improved air quality, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, noise reduction, and national security benefits. According to the Center for American Progress, PEVs are an important part of the group of technologies that will help the U.S. meet its goal under the Paris Agreement, which is a 26–28 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2025.

Improved air quality

Electric cars, as well as plug-in hybrids operating in all-electric mode, emit no harmful tailpipe pollutants from the onboard source of power, such as particulates (soot), volatile organic compounds, hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, ozone, lead, and various oxides of nitrogen. However, like ICE cars, electric cars emit particulates from brake and tyres. Depending on the source of the electricity used to recharge the batteries, air pollutant emissions are shifted to the location of the generation plants where they can be more easily captured from flue gases. Cities with chronic air pollution problems, such as Los Angeles, México City, Santiago, Chile, São Paulo, Beijing, Bangkok and Kathmandu may also gain local clean air benefits by shifting the harmful emission to electric generation plants located outside the cities.

Lower greenhouse gas emissions

Plug-in electric vehicles operating in all-electric mode do not emit greenhouse gases from the onboard source of power, but from the point of view of a well-to-wheel assessment, the extent of the benefit also depends on the fuel and technology used for electricity generation. This fact has been referred to as the long tailpipe of plug-in electric vehicles. From the perspective of a full life cycle analysis, the electricity used to recharge the batteries must be generated from renewable or clean sources such as wind, solar, hydroelectric, or nuclear power for PEVs to have almost none or zero well-to-wheel emissions. In the case of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles operating in hybrid mode with assistance of the internal combustion engine, tailpipe and greenhouse emissions are lower in comparison to conventional cars because of their higher fuel economy.

The magnitude of the potential advantage depends on the mix of generation sources and therefore varies by country and by region. For example, France can obtain significant emission benefits from electric and plug-in hybrids because most of its electricity is generated by nuclear power plants; similarly, most regions of Canada are primarily powered with hydroelectricity, nuclear, or natural gas which have no or very low emissions at the point of generation; and the state of California, where most energy comes from natural gas, hydroelectric and nuclear plants can also secure substantial emission benefits. The United Kingdom also has a significant potential to benefit from PEVs as low carbon sources such as wind turbines dominate the generation mix. Nevertheless, the location of the plants is not relevant when considering greenhouse gas emission because their effect is global.

Lifecycle GHG emissions are complex to calculate, but compared to ICE cars generally while the EV battery causes higher emissions during vehicle manufacture this excess carbon debt is paid back after several months of driving.

Lower operating and maintenance costs
Internal combustion engines are relatively inefficient at converting on-board fuel energy to propulsion as most of the energy is wasted as heat, and the rest while the engine is idling. Electric motors, on the other hand, are more efficient at converting stored energy into driving a vehicle. Electric drive vehicles do not consume energy while at rest or coasting, and modern plug-in cars can capture and reuse as much as one fifth of the energy normally lost during braking through regenerative braking. Typically, conventional gasoline engines effectively use only 15% of the fuel energy content to move the vehicle or to power accessories, and diesel engines can reach on-board efficiencies of 20%, while electric drive vehicles typically have on-board efficiencies of around 80%.

All-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles also have lower maintenance costs as compared to internal combustion vehicles, since electronic systems break down much less often than the mechanical systems in conventional vehicles, and the fewer mechanical systems onboard last longer due to the better use of the electric engine. PEVs do not require oil changes and other routine maintenance checks.

Less dependence on imported oil

For many developing countries, and particularly for the poorest African countries, oil imports have an adverse impact on the government budget and deteriorate their terms of trade thus jeopardizing their balance of payments, all leading to lower economic growth.

Through the gradual replacement of internal combustion engine vehicles for electric cars and plug-in hybrids, electric drive vehicles can contribute significantly to lessen the dependence of the transport sector on imported oil as well as contributing to the development of a more resilient energy supply.

Vehicle-to-grid

Plug-in electric vehicles offer users the opportunity to sell electricity stored in their batteries back to the power grid, thereby helping utilities to operate more efficiently in the management of their demand peaks. A vehicle-to-grid (V2G) system would take advantage of the fact that most vehicles are parked an average of 95 percent of the time. During such idle times the electricity stored in the batteries could be transferred from the PEV to the power lines and back to the grid. In the U.S. this transfer back to the grid have an estimated value to the utilities of up to $4,000 per year per car. In a V2G system it would also be expected that battery electric (BEVs) and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) would have the capability to communicate automatically with the power grid to sell demand response services by either delivering electricity into the grid or by throttling their charging rate.

Disadvantages

Cost of batteries

, plug-in electric vehicles are significantly more expensive as compared to conventional internal combustion engine vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles due to the additional cost of their lithium-ion battery pack.  Cost reductions through advances in battery technology and higher production volumes will allow plug-in electric vehicles to be more competitive with conventional internal combustion engine vehicles.

Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) concludes that battery costs are on a trajectory to make electric vehicles without government subsidies as affordable as internal combustion engine cars in most countries by 2022. BNEF projects that by 2040, long-range electric cars will cost less than  expressed in 2016 dollars. BNEF expects electric car battery costs to be well below  per kWh by 2030, and to fall further thereafter as new chemistries become available.

Availability of recharging infrastructure

Despite the widespread assumption that plug-in recharging will take place overnight at home, residents of cities, apartments, dormitories, and townhouses do not have garages or driveways with available power outlets, and they might be less likely to buy plug-in electric vehicles unless recharging infrastructure is developed. Electrical outlets or charging stations near their places of residence, in commercial or public parking lots, streets and workplaces are required for these potential users to gain the full advantage of PHEVs, and in the case of EVs, to avoid the fear of the batteries running out energy before reaching their destination, commonly called range anxiety. Even house dwellers might need to charge at the office or to take advantage of opportunity charging at shopping centers. However, this infrastructure is not in place and it will require investments by both the private and public sectors.

Battery swapping

A different approach to resolve the problems of range anxiety and lack of recharging infrastructure for electric vehicles was developed by Better Place but was not successful in the United States in the 2010s.  battery swapping is available in China and is planned for other countries.

Potential overload of local electrical grids

The existing low-voltage network, and local transformers in particular, may not have enough capacity to handle the additional power load that might be required in certain areas with high plug-in electric car concentrations. As recharging a single electric-drive car could consume three times as much electricity as a typical home, overloading problems may arise when several vehicles in the same neighborhood recharge at the same time, or during the normal summer peak loads. To avoid such problems, utility executives recommend owners to charge their vehicles overnight when the grid load is lower or to use smarter electric meters that help control demand. When market penetration of plug-in electric vehicles begins to reach significant levels, utilities will have to invest in improvements for local electrical grids in order to handle the additional loads related to recharging to avoid blackouts due to grid overload. Also, some experts have suggested that by implementing variable time-of-day rates, utilities can provide an incentive for plug-in owners to recharge mostly overnight when rates are lower.

In the five years from 2014 to 2019, EVs increased in number and range, and doubled power draw and energy per session. Charging increased after midnight, and decreased in the peak hours of early evening.

Risks associated with noise reduction

Electric cars and plug-in hybrids when operating in all-electric mode at low speeds produce less roadway noise as compared to vehicles propelled by an internal combustion engine, thereby reducing harmful noise health effects. However, blind people or the visually impaired consider the noise of combustion engines a helpful aid while crossing streets, hence plug-in electric cars and conventional hybrids could pose an unexpected hazard when operating at low speeds. Several tests conducted in the U.S. have shown that this is a valid concern, as vehicles operating in electric mode can be particularly hard to hear below  for all types of road users and not only the visually impaired. At higher speeds the sound created by tire friction and the air displaced by the vehicle start to make sufficient audible noise. Therefore, in the 2010s laws were passed in many countries mandating warning sounds at low speeds.

Risks of battery fire

Lithium-ion batteries may suffer thermal runaway and cell rupture if overheated or overcharged, and in extreme cases this can lead to combustion. Reignition may occur days or months after the original fire has been extinguished. To reduce these risks, lithium-ion battery packs contain fail-safe circuitry that shuts down the battery when its voltage is outside the safe range.

Several plug-in electric vehicle fire incidents have taken place since the introduction of mass-production plug-in electric vehicles in 2008. Most of them have been thermal runaway incidents related to the lithium-ion batteries.  General Motors, Tesla, and Nissan have published a guide for firefighters and first responders to properly handle a crashed plug-in electric-drive vehicle and safely disable its battery and other high voltage systems.

Car dealers' reluctance to sell

With the exception of Tesla Motors, almost all new cars in the United States are sold through dealerships, so they play a crucial role in the sales of electric vehicles, and negative attitudes can hinder early adoption of plug-in electric vehicles. Dealers decide which cars they want to stock, and a salesperson can have a big impact on how someone feels about a prospective purchase. Sales people have ample knowledge of internal combustion cars while they do not have time to learn about a technology that represents a fraction of overall sales. As with any new technology, and in the particular case of advanced technology vehicles, retailers are central to ensuring that buyers, especially those switching to a new technology, have the information and support they need to gain the full benefits of adopting this new technology.

There are several reasons for the reluctance of some dealers to sell plug-in electric vehicles. PEVs do not offer car dealers the same profits as a gasoline-powered cars. Plug-in electric vehicles take more time to sell because of the explaining required, which hurts overall sales and sales people commissions. Electric vehicles also may require less maintenance, resulting in loss of service revenue, and thus undermining the biggest source of dealer profits, their service departments. According to the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADS), dealers on average make three times as much profit from service as they do from new car sales.

Government incentives and policies

Several national, provincial, and local governments around the world have introduced policies to support the mass market adoption of plug-in electric vehicles. A variety of policies have been established to provide direct financial support to consumers and manufacturers; non-monetary incentives; subsidies for the deployment of charging infrastructure; procurement of electric vehicle for government fleets; and long term regulations with specific targets.

Financial incentives for consumers aim to make plug-in electric car purchase price competitive with conventional cars due to the still higher up front cost of electric vehicles. Among the financial incentives there are one-time purchase incentives such as tax credits, purchase grants, exemptions from import duties, and other fiscal incentives; exemptions from road, bridge and tunnel tolls, and from congestion pricing fees; and exemption of registration and annual use vehicle fees. Some countries, like France, also introduced a bonus–malus  based tax system that penalize fossil-fuel vehicle sales.

, monetary incentives for electrically chargeable vehicles are available, among others, in several European Union member states, China, the United States, the UK, Japan, Norway, some provinces in Canada, South Korea, India, Israel, Colombia, and Costa Rica.

Among the non-monetary incentives there are several perks such allowing plug-in vehicles access to bus lanes and high-occupancy vehicle lanes, free parking and free charging. In addition, in some countries or cities that restrict private car ownership (purchase quota system for new vehicles), or have implemented permanent driving restrictions (no-drive days), the schemes often exclude electric vehicles from the restrictions to promote their adoption.

For example, in Beijing, the license plate lottery scheme specifies a fixed number of vehicle purchase permits each year, but to promote the electrification of its fleet, the city government split the number of purchase permits into two lots, one for conventional vehicles, and another dedicated for all-electric vehicle applicants. In the case of cities with driving alternate-days based on the license plate number, such as San José, Costa Rica, since 2012, São Paulo and Bogotá since 2014, and Mexico City since 2015, all-electric vehicles were excluded from the driving restrictions.

Some government have also established long term regulatory signals with specific target timeframes such as ZEV mandates, national or regional  emissions regulations, stringent fuel economy standards, and the phase out of internal combustion engine vehicle sales. For example, Norway set a national goal that all new car sales by 2025 should be zero emission vehicles (electric or hydrogen).

Also, some cities are planning to establish zero-emission zones (ZEZ) restricting traffic access into an urban cordon area or city center where only zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) are allowed access. In such areas, all internal combustion engine vehicles are banned.

, Oxford is slated to be the first city to implement a ZEZ scheme, beginning with a small area scheduled to go into effect by mid 2021. The plan is to expand the clean air zone gradually into a much larger zone, until the ZEZ encompasses the majority of the city center by 2035.

, other cities planning to gradually introduce ZEZ, or partial or total ban fossil fuel powered vehicles include, among others, Amsterdam (2030), Athens (2025), Barcelona (2030), Brussels (2030/2035), Copenhagen (2030), London (2020/2025), Los Angeles (2030), Madrid (2025), Mexico City (2025), Milan (2030), Oslo (2024/2030), Paris (2024/2030),  Quito (2030), Rio de Janeiro (2030), Rome (2024/2030), Seattle (2030), and Vancouver (2030).

Production plug-in electric vehicles available

During the 1990s several highway-capable plug-in electric cars were produced in limited quantities, all were battery electric vehicles. PSA Peugeot Citroën launched several electric "Électrique" versions of its models starting in 1991. Other models were available through leasing mainly in California. Popular models included the General Motors EV1 and the Toyota RAV4 EV. Some of the latter were sold to the public and were still in use by the early 2010s.

In the late 2000s began a new wave of mass production plug-in electric cars, motorcycles and light trucks. However, , most electric vehicles in the world roads were low-speed, low-range neighborhood electric vehicles (NEVs) or electric quadricycles. Sales of low-speed electric vehicles experienced considerable growth in China between 2012 and 2016, with an estimated NEV stock between 3 million to 4 million units, with most powered by lead-acid batteries.

, according to the International Energy Agency, there were about 250 models of highway-capable plug-in electric passenger cars available for sale in the world, up from 70 in 2014. There are also available several commercial models of electric light commercial vehicles, plug-in motorcycles, all-electric buses, and plug-in heavy-duty trucks.

The Renault–Nissan–Mitsubishi Alliance is the world's leading light-duty electric vehicle manufacturer. Since 2010, the Alliance's global all-electric vehicle sales totaled almost 725,000 units, including those manufactured by Mitsubishi Motors through December 2018, now part of the Alliance. Its best selling all-electric Nissan Leaf was the world's top selling plug-in electric car in 2013 and 2014. Tesla is the world's second largest plug-in electric passenger car manufacturer with global sales since 2012 of over 532,000 units . Its Model S was the world's top selling plug-in car in 2015 and 2016, and its Model 3 was the world's best selling plug-in electric car in 2018.

Ranking next is BYD Auto with more than 529,000 plug-in passenger cars delivered in China through December 2018. Its Qin plug-in hybrid is the company's top selling model with almost 137,000 units sold in China through December 2018. , the BMW Group had sold more than 356,000 plug-in cars since inception of the BMW i3, accounting for global sales its BMW i cars, BMW iPerformance plug-in hybrid models, and MINI brand plug-ins.

BYD Auto ended 2015 as the world's best selling manufacturer of highway legal light-duty plug-in electric vehicles, with 61,722 units sold, followed by Tesla, with 50,580 units. BYD was again the world's top selling plug-in car manufacturer in 2016, with 101,183 units delivered, one more time followed again by Tesla with 76,243 units. In 2017 BYD ranked for the third consecutive year as the global top plug-in car manufacturer with 113,669 units delivered. BAIC ranked second with 104,520 units.  The BAIC EC-Series all-electric city car ranked as the world's top selling plug-in car in 2017 with 78,079 units sold in China.

After 10 years in the market, Tesla was the world's top selling plug-in passenger car manufacturer in 2018, both as a brand and by automotive group, with 245,240 units delivered and a market share of 12% of all plug-in cars sold globally in 2018. BYD Auto ranked second with 227,152 plug-in passenger cars sold worldwide, representing a market share of 11%.

Sales and main markets

The global stock of plug-in electric vehicles between 2005 and 2009 consisted exclusively of all-electric cars, totaling about 1,700 units in 2005, and almost 6,000 in 2009. The plug-in stock rose to about 12,500 units in 2010, of which, only 350 vehicles were plug-in hybrids. By comparison, during the Golden Age of the electric car at the beginning of the 20th century, the EV stock peaked at approximately 30,000 vehicles.

After the introduction of the first mass-production plug-in cars by major carmakers in late 2010, plug-in car global sales went from about 50,000 units in 2011, to 125,000 in 2012, almost 213,000 in 2013, and over 315,000 units in 2014. By mid-September 2015, the global stock of highway legal plug-in electric passenger cars and utility vans reached the one million sales milestone, almost twice as fast as hybrid electric vehicles (HEV).

Light-duty plug-in electric vehicle sales in 2015 increased to more than 565,000 units in 2015, about 80% from 2014, driven mainly by China and Europe. Both markets passed in 2015 the U.S. as the largest plug-in electric car markets in terms of total annual sales, with China ranking as the world's best-selling plug-in electric passenger car country market in 2015. About 775,000 plug-in cars and vans were sold in 2016, and cumulative global sales passed the 2 million milestone by the end of 2016. The global market share of the light-duty plug-in vehicle segment achieved a record 0.86% of total new car sales in 2016, up from 0.62% in 2015 and 0.38% in 2014.

Cumulative global light-duty plug-in vehicle sales passed the 3 million milestone in November 2017. About 1.2 million plug-ins cars and vans were sold worldwide in 2017, with China accounting for about half of global sales. The plug-in car segment achieved a 1.3% market share. Plug-in passenger car sales totaled just over 2 million in 2018, with a market share of 2.1%. The global stock reached 5.3 million light-duty plug-in vehicles in December 2018.

By the end of 2019 the stock of light-duty plug-in vehicles totaled 7.55 million units, consisting of 4.79 million all-electric cars, 2.38 million plug-in hybrid cars, and 377,970 electric light commercial vehicles. Plug-in passenger cars still represented less than 1% of the world's car fleet in use. In addition, there were about half a million electric buses in circulation in 2019, most of them in China. In 2020, global cumulative sales of light-duty plug-in vehicles passed the 10 million unit milestone.

Despite the rapid growth experienced, the plug-in electric car segment represented just about 1 out of every 250 vehicles on the world's roads by the end of 2018 (0.4%), rose to 1 out of every 200 motor vehicles (0.48%) in 2019, and by the end of 2020, the stock share of plug-in cars on the world's roads was 1%.

All-electric cars have outsold plug-in hybrids for several years, and by the end of 2019, the shift towards battery electric cars continued. The global ratio between all-electrics (BEVs) and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) went from 56:44 in 2012, to 60:40 in 2015, increased to 66:34 in 2017, and rose to 69:31 in 2018, and reached 74:26 in 2019. Out of the 7.2 million plug-in passenger cars in use at the end of 2019, two thirds were all-electric cars (4.8 million).

Since 2016, China has the world's largest fleet of light-duty plug-in electric vehicles, after having overtaken during 2016 both the U.S. and Europe in terms of cumulative sales. The fleet of Chinese plug-in passenger cars represented 46.7% of the global stock of plug-in cars at the end of 2019. Europe listed next with 24.8%, followed by the U.S. with 20.2% of the global stock in use.

, 25 cities accounted for 44% of the world's stock of plug-in electric cars, while representing just 12% of world passenger vehicle sales. Shanghai led the world with cumulative sales of over 162,000 electric vehicles since 2011, followed by Beijing with 147,000 and Los Angeles with 143,000. Among these cities, Bergen has the highest market share of the plug-in segment, with about 50% of new car sales in 2017, followed by Oslo with 40%.

China

, China had the world's largest stock of highway legal plug-in cars with 7.84 million units, corresponding to about 46% of the global plug-in car fleet in use. Of these, all-electric cars accounted for 81.6% of the all new energy passenger cars in circulation. Plug-in passenger cars represent 2.6% of all cars on Chinese roads at the end of 2021. Domestically produced cars dominate new energy car sales in China, accounting for about 96% of sales in 2017. Another particular feature of the Chinese passenger plug-in market is the dominance of small entry level vehicles.

China also dominates the plug-in light commercial vehicle and electric bus deployment, with its stock reaching over 500,000 buses in 2019, 98% of the global stock, and 247,500 electric light commercial vehicles, 65% of the global fleet. In addition, the country also leads sales of medium- and heavy duty electric trucks, with over 12,000 trucks sold, and nearly all battery electric. Since 2011, combined sales of all classes of new energy vehicles (NEV) totaled almost 5.5 million at the end of 2020.

The BAIC EC-Series all-electric city car was China's the top selling plug-in car in 2017 and 2018, and also the world's top selling plug-in car in 2017. BYD Auto was the world's top selling car manufacturer in 2016 and 2017. In 2020, the Tesla Model 3 listed as the best-selling plug-in car with 137,459 units.

Europe

Europe had about 5.67 million plug-in electric passenger cars and light commercial vehicles in circulation at the end of 2021, consisting of 2.9 million fully electric passenger cars, 2.5 million plug-in hybrid cars, and about 220,000 light commercial all-electric vehicles. The European stock of plug-in passenger is the world's second largest market after China, accounting for 30% of the global car stock in 2020. Europe also has the second largest electric light commercial vehicle stock, 33% of the global stock in 2019.

In 2020, and despite the strong decline in global car sales brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, annual sales of plug-in passenger cars in Europe surpassed the 1 million mark for the first time. In addition, Europe outsold China in 2020 as the world's largest plug-in passenger car market for the first time since 2015.

The plug-in car segment had a market share of 1.3% of new car registrations in 2016, rose to 3.6% in 2019, and achieved 11.4% in 2020. The largest country markets in the European region in terms of EV stock and annual sales are Germany, Norway, France, the UK, the Netherlands, and Sweden. Germany surpassed Norway in 2019 as the best selling plug-in market, leading both the all-electric and the plug-in hybrid segments in Europe. and in 2020 listed as the top selling European country market for the second consecutive year.

Germany

The stock of plug-in electric cars in Germany is the largest in Europe, there were 1,184,416 plug-in cars in circulation on January 1, 2022, representing 2.5% of all passenger cars on German roads, up from 1.2% the previous year. , cumulative sales totaled 1.38 million plug-in passenger cars since 2010. Germany had a stock of 21,890 light-duty electric commercial vehicles in 2019, the second largest in Europe after France.

Germany listed as the top selling plug-in car market in the European continent in 2019 and achieved a market share of 3.10%. Despite the global decline in car sales brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, the segment market share achieved a record 13.6% in 2020. with a record volume of 394,632 plug-in passenger cars registered in 2020, up 263% from 2019, allowing Germany to be listed for a second year running as the best selling European plug-in market. Both years, the German market led both the fully electric and plug-in hybrid segments.

Despite to the continued global decline in car sales brought by the shortages related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and computer chips in particular, a record 681,410 plug-in electric passenger cars were registered in Germany in 2021, consisting of 325,449 plug-in hybrids and 355,961 all-electric cars, allowing the segment's market share to surge to 26.0%.

France

, a total of 786,274 light-duty plug-in electric vehicles have been registered in France since 2010, consisting of 512,178 all-electric passenger cars and commercial vans, and 274,096 plug-in hybrids. Of these, over 60,000 were all-electric light commercial vehicles.

The market share of all-electric passenger cars increased from 0.30% of new car registered in 2012, to 0.59% in 2014. After the introduction of the super-bonus for the scrappage of old diesel-power cars in 2015, sales of both pure electric cars and plug-in hybrids surged, rising the market share to 1.17% in 2015, climbed to 2.11% in 2018, and achieved 2.8% in 2019.

Despite the global strong decline in car sales brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the related global computer chip shortage, plug-in electric car sales in France rose to a record of 315,978 light-duty plug-in vehicles in 2021, up 62% from 2020. The plug-in electric passenger car market share rose to 11.2% in 2020 and achieved a record market share of 18.3% in 2021. The combined light-duty plug-in vehicle segment (cars and utility vans) achieved a market share of 15.1% in 2021.

, France ranked as the country with the world's second largest stock of light-duty electric commercial vehicles after China, with 49,340 utility vans in use. The market share of all-electric utility vans reached a market share of 1.22% in 2014, and 1.77% in 2018.

United Kingdom

About 745,000 light-duty plug-in electric vehicles had been registered in the UK up until December 2021, consisting of 395,000 all-electric vehicles and 350,000 plug-in hybrids.

A surge of plug-in car sales took place in Britain beginning in 2014. Total registrations went from 3,586 in 2013, to 37,092 in 2016, and rose to 59,911 in 2018. Again sales surged to 175,339 units in 2020, despite the global strong decline in car sales brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, and achieved record sales of 305,281 units in 2021.

The market share of the plug-in segment went from 0.16% in 2013 to 0.59% in 2014, and achieved 2.6% in 2018.  The segment market share was 3.1% in 2019, rose to 10.7% in 2020, and achieved a record 18.6% in 2021.

, the Mitsubishi Outlander P-HEV is the all-time top selling plug-in car in the UK over 46,400 units registered, followed by the Nissan Leaf more than 31,400 units.

Norway

, the stock of light-duty plug-in electric vehicles in Norway totaled 647,000 units in use, consisting of 470,309 all-electric passenger cars and vans (including used imports), and 176,691 plug-in hybrids. Norway was the top selling plug-in country market in Europe for three consecutive years, from 2016 to 2018. Until 2019, Norway listed as the European country with the largest stock of plug-in cars and vans, and the third largest in the world.

The Norwegian plug-in car segment market share has been the highest in the world for several years, reaching 39.2% in 2017, up from 29.1% in 2016, 49.1% in 2018, rose to 55.9% in 2019, and reached 74.7% in 2020, meaning that three out of every four new passenger car sold in Norway in 2020 was a plug-in electric. In September 2021, the combined market share of the plug-in car segment achieved a new record of 91.5% of new passenger car registrations, 77.5% for all-electric cars and 13.9% for plug-in hybrids, becoming the world's highest-ever monthly plug-in car market share attained by any country. The plug-in segment market share rose to 86.2% in 2021.

In October 2018, Norway became the first country where 1 in every 10 passenger cars in use was a plug-in electric vehicle. and by the end of 2021, plug-in electric cars were 22.1% of all passenger cars on Norwegian roads.
The country's fleet of plug-in electric cars is one of the cleanest in the world because 98% of the electricity generated in the country comes from hydropower. Norway is the country with the largest EV ownership per capita in the world.

Netherlands

, there were 390,454 highway-legal light-duty plug-in electric vehicles in use in the Netherlands, consisting of 137,663 fully electric cars, 243,664 plug-in hybrid cars and 9,127 light duty plug-in commercial vehicles. Plug-in passenger cars represented 4.33% of all cars on Dutch roads at the end of 2021.

, the Netherlands had the second largest plug-in ownership per capita in the world after Norway. Plug-in sales fell sharply in 2016 due to changes in tax rules, and as a result of the change in government's incentives, the plug-in market share declined from 9.9% in 2015, to 6.7% in 2016, and fell to 2.6% in 2017. The intake rate rose to 6.5% in 2018 in anticipation of another change in tax rules that went into effect in January 2019, and increased to 14.9% in 2019, and rose 24.6% in 2020, and achieved a record 29.8% in 2021.

United States

, cumulative sales of highway legal plug-in electric passenger cars in the U.S. totaled 2,322,291 units since 2010. Since December 2016 the U.S. has the world's third largest stock of plug-in passenger cars, after having been overtaken by Europe in 2015 and China during 2016. California is the largest plug-in regional market in the country, with 1 million plug-in cars sold in California by November 2021.

The Tesla Model 3 electric car has been the best selling plug-in car in the U.S. for two consecutive years, 2018 and 2019. Cumulative sales of the Model 3 surpassed in 2019 the discontinued Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid to become the all-time best selling plug-in car in the country, with an estimated 300,471 units delivered since inception, followed by the Tesla Model S all-electric car with about 157,992, and the Chevrolet Volt with 157,054.

Japan

, Japan had a stock of plug-in passenger cars of 293,081 units on the road, consisting of 156,381 all-electric cars and 136,700 plug-in hybrids. The fleet of electric light commercial vehicles in use totaled 9,904 units in 2019.

Plug-in sales totaled 24,660 units in 2015 and 24,851 units in 2016. The rate of growth of the Japanese plug-in segment slowed down from 2013, with annual sales falling behind Europe, the U.S. and China during 2014 and 2015. The segment market share fell from 0.68% in 2014 to 0.59% in 2016. Sales recovered in 2017, with almost 56,000 plug-in cars sold, and the segment's market share reached 1.1%. Sales fell slightly in 2018 to 52,000 units  with a market share of 1.0%. The market share continued declining to 0.7% in 2019 and 0.6% in 2020.

The decline in plug-in car sales reflects the Japanese government and the major domestic carmakers decision to adopt and promote hydrogen fuel cell vehicles instead of plug-in electric vehicles.

Top selling PEV models

All-electric cars and vans

The Tesla Model 3 surpassed the Nissan Leaf in early 2020 to become the world's all-time best selling electric car, and, in June 2021, became the first electric car to sell 1 million units globally. The Model 3 has been the world's best selling plug-in electric car for four consecutive years, from 2018 to 2021.  The United States is the leading market with an estimated 395,000 units sold, followed by the European market with over 180,000 units delivered, both through December 2020. The Model 3 was the best-selling plug-in car in China in 2020, with 137,459 units sold.

Ranking second is the Nissan Leaf with cumulative global sales since inception of 577,000 units by February 2022. , Europe listed as the biggest market with more than 208,000 units sold, of which, 72 620 units have been registered in Norway, the leading European country market. , U.S. sales totaled 165,710 units through December 2021, and 157,059 units in Japan.

The Wuling Hongguang Mini EV has dominated sales in the Chinese market in 2021, selling over 550,000 units since its release in July 2020.

Europe's all-time top selling all-electric light utility vehicle is the Renault Kangoo Z.E., with global sales of over 57,500 units through November 2020.

The following table presents global sales of the top selling highway-capable electric cars and light utility vehicles produced since the introduction of the first modern production all-electric car, the Tesla Roadster, in 2008 and December 2021. The table includes all-electric passenger cars and utility vans with cumulative sales of about or over 200,000 units.

Plug-in hybrids

The Mitsubishi Outlander P-HEV is the world's all-time best selling plug-in hybrid according to JATO Dynamics. Global sales achieved the 250,000 unit milestone in May 2020, and the 300,000 mark in January 2022. Europe is the Outlander P-HEV leading market with 126,617 units sold through January 2019, followed by Japan with 42,451 units through March 2018. European sales are led by the UK with 36,237 units delivered, followed by the Netherlands with 25,489 units, both through March 2018.

Ranking second is the Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid (Toyota Prius Prime) with about 225,000 units sold worldwide of both generations through December 2020. The United States is the market leader with over 93,000 units delivered through December 2018. Japan ranks next with about 61,200 units through December 2018, followed by Europe with almost 14,800 units through June 2018.

Combined global sales of the Chevrolet Volt and its rebadged models totaled about 186,000 units by the end of 2018, including about 10,000 Opel/Vauxhall Amperas sold in Europe through June 2016. Volt sales are led by the United States with 157,054 units delivered through December 2019, followed by Canada with 17,311 units through November 2018. Until the end of 2018, the Chevrolet Volt family listed as the world's top selling plug-in hybrid, when it was surpassed by the Mitsubishi Outlander P-HEV.

The following table presents plug-in hybrid models with cumulative global sales of around or more than 100,000 units since the introduction of the first modern production plug-in hybrid car, the BYD F3DM, in 2008 up until December 2021:

See also
Electric car
Electric car use by country
Electric vehicle battery
Electric vehicle warning sounds
Hybrid tax credit (U.S.)
List of electric cars currently available
List of modern production plug-in electric vehicles
Plug In America
RechargeIT (Google.org PHEV program)
Renewable energy by country

References

External links
 Clean Vehicle Rebate Project website
 Competitive Electric Town Transport, Institute of Transport Economics (TØI), Oslo, August 2015.
 Cradle-to-Grave Lifecycle Analysis of U.S. Light-Duty Vehicle-Fuel Pathways: A Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Economic Assessment of Current (2015) and Future (2025–2030) Technologies  (includes BEVs and PHEVs), Argonne National Laboratory, June 2016.
Driving Electrification – A Global Comparison of Fiscal Incentive Policy for Electric Vehicles, International Council on Clean Transportation, May 2014.
 Effects of Regional Temperature on Electric Vehicle Efficiency, Range, and Emissions in the United States, Tugce Yuksel and Jeremy Michalek, Carnegie Mellon University. 2015
 eGallon Calculator: Compare the costs of driving with electricity, U.S. Department of Energy
From Fiction to Reality: The Evolution of Electric Vehicles 2013 – 2015, JATO Dynamics, November 2015.
 Influence of driving patterns on life cycle cost and emissions of hybrid and plug-in electric vehicle powertrains, Carnegie MellonVehicle Electrification Group
 Modernizing vehicle regulations for electrification, International Council on Clean Transportation, October 2018.
 NHTSA Interim Guidance Electric and Hybrid Electric Vehicles Equipped with High Voltage Batteries – Vehicle Owner/General Public
 NHTSA Interim Guidance Electric and Hybrid Electric Vehicles Equipped with High Voltage Batteries – Law Enforcement/Emergency Medical Services/Fire Department
 New Energy Tax Credits for Electric Vehicles purchased in 2009
 Overview of Tax Incentives for Electrically Chargeable Vehicles in the E.U.
 PEVs Frequently Asked Questions
 Plug-in Electric Vehicles: Challenges and Opportunities, American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, June 2013
 Powering Ahead – The future of low-carbon cars and fuels, the RAC Foundation and UK Petroleum Industry Association, April 2013.
 Plugging In: A Consumer's Guide to the Electric Vehicle Electric Power Research Institute
 Plug-in America website
 Plug-in Electric Vehicle Deployment in the Northeast Georgetown Climate Center
 Plug-in List of Registered Charging Stations in the USA
 RechargeIT plug-in driving experiment (Google.org)
 Shades of Green – Electric Car's Carbon Emissions Around the Globe, Shrink that Footprint, February 2013.
 State of the Plug-in Electric Vehicle Market, Electrification Coalition, July 2013.
 The Great Debate – All-Electric Cars vs. Plug-In Hybrids, April 2014
 UK Plug-in Car Grant website
 U.S. Federal & State Incentives & Laws
 US Tax Incentives for Plug-in Hybrids and Electric Cars

Books

Electric vehicles
Plug-in hybrid vehicles
Electric vehicle conversion

Plug-in electric vehicle


Philip Amos Amerson (born January 1, 1946) is a theological educator, pastor and social researcher. He served as president of Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary and the Claremont School of Theology.

Early life and education
Amerson was born in southern Indiana and raised in a Methodist pastor's home. After graduating from Shortridge High School in Indianapolis he attended Asbury College and Asbury Theological Seminary in Kentucky. His doctoral work was done at Emory University where he studied the Sociology of Religion under Jackson Carroll and Earl D. C. Brewer.  During this time he wrote Racism and Suburban Congregations: Strategies for Change.

Career
Amerson worked in several academic and religious settings, and also engaged in research on urban parishes for the Lilly Endowment.  From 1970 through 2000 he divided his time between academic research and the church, teaching in colleges and graduate schools.  He also taught for a year in the Republic of Panama at the Instituto Pan Americano.  In 1977 Amerson and his wife, Dr. Elaine (Mallard) Amerson left teaching posts at Emory University to become founding members of an intentional Christian Community, Patchwork Ministries, in Evansville, Indiana; they there stayed until 1986.  While serving as parish pastor in Indianapolis and Bloomington, Indiana Amerson continued to function as a researcher and consultant.

In the 1980s Amerson began to write, speak and teach about institutional leadership, urban community development and the role of congregations in addressing poverty and discrimination.  His work in these years was influenced by conversations with Robert K. Greenleaf. Amerson studied the role of Servant Leadership in urban parish life and interpreted Greenleaf's writings on the role of theological seminaries.

Amerson met John McKnight, an initiator of the Asset Based Community Development movement, at Northwestern University.  McKnight's critique of the social service industry and helping institutions influenced Amerson to focus more of his own work on building on the capacities found among the residents of poor communities.  He was additionally influenced by Herman B Wells, a member of his parish in Bloomington, Indiana, and president and chancellor of Indiana University, to study the development of social institutions.

In 2000 he became the president of Claremont School of Theology and then in 2006 moved to the presidency of Garrett-Evangelical Theology Seminary on the Campus of Northwestern University.  During these years he served two terms as leader of the Association of United Methodist Theological Schools and Senator and Vice-President of the United Methodist University Senate.

Amerson wrote and spoke of his concerns that his denomination gave preference to those in wealthy and suburban settings and practiced discrimination based on sexual orientation.  He was an elected delegate to the world gathering of United Methodists at their General Conferences in 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2004.  He was a presenter on academic topics and a convener at several gatherings of the Oxford Institutes of Methodist Theological Studies, which occur every five years.

After retiring from seminary administration he served as interim senior pastor of St. Andrew United Methodist Church in Highlands Ranch, Colorado (2014) and First United Methodist, San Diego, California (2018–19). He continues to undertake consulting, writing and research from his home in Bloomington, Indiana.

Publications

 "The Vocation of Peacebuilding," with John W. Woell, in Choosing Peace Through Daily Practices, Ellen Ott Marshall, editor; Cleveland: Pilgrim Press, 2005.
 Tell Me City Stories: A Journey for Urban Congregations, Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stevens Publishers, 2003.
 "Legacy of a Lightweight" in First Fruits, David Mosser and Brian Bauknight, editors; Nashville: Abingdon, 2003.
 "Clockwork Theology," Circuit Rider, January/February 2000.
 "Decline or Transformation? Another View of Mainline Finances" with Edward Stephenson and Jan Shipps, The Christian Century, February 5, 1997.
 "Public Ministry: Chronicles of Capacity Building," in Envisioning the New City: A Reader on Urban Ministry, Eleanor Scott Meyers, editor; Westminster/John Knox Press, 1992.
 "The Urban Church: Flight Time or Staying Power," Circuit Rider  (Dec./Jan. 1990 - 1991).
 "Faith and Social Ministry: United Methodism," with Earl D. C. Brewer, in Faith and Social  Ministry: An Interfaith Dialogue (Loyola University Press, 1990).
 "Miracle on Twenty-ninth Street," The Other Side, April 1988.
 "Inside Story: A Parable," The Other Side, September 1988.
 "For Those Who Bear the Bounty," The Other Side, December 1984.
 "Master Teacher and Disciples: An Old and Good Model," Cities, Winter 1984.
 "Ministry on the Urban Frontier: Access and Retirement," in Signs of the Kingdom in the Secular  City; David Frenchak, ed., (Chicago: Covenant Press) 1984.
 "Strategy and Urban Ministry," Cities, Summer 1983.
 "On Asking Fish to Jump Into a Barrel:  Reflections on Urban Evangelization," The Covenant  Quarterly, May 1982.
 "Trends in Lifestyle Research," Review of Religious Research, Summer 1979.
 "Excess or Access," Sojourners, July 1979.
 "The Suburban Church and Racism: Is Change Possible?" with Jackson W. Carroll, Review of Religious Research, Summer 1979.
 "If People Knew the Truth, They'd Panic," Sojourners, January 1979.
 "Congregations and Racial Change," with Jackson W. Carroll, Hartford Seminary Foundation, 1975.
 "Inventory of Institutional Racism," with Jackson Carroll, Advance, October 1974.
 "Fighting White Racism in the Churches," Convergence, May 1974.

References

External links

1946 births
21st-century Methodist ministers
American United Methodist clergy
Asbury Theological Seminary alumni
Asbury University alumni
Emory University alumni
Living people
Seminary presidents
21st-century American Christian clergy

Philip A. Amerson


Boris Van Berkum (born 30 April 1968) is a Dutch visual artist who was born, has lived, and works in Rotterdam, the  Netherlands.

Biography
He was educated at the Montessori Lyceum and the Willem de Kooning Academie both in Rotterdam, then at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague.

He has worked as a cartoonist, and performance artist, known as DJ Chantelle, and was founder/curator of the Showroom MAMA - where he curated for several years. He has also been an artist in residence at a number of institutions, and was the Art Editor of Rails Magazine Netherlands from November 2006 to August 2008.

Boris Van Berkum has been a member of the Thinktank, the Voorrang Culturele Vakmanschaf (Committee for Advanced Craft and Technology Vocational Education) from 2008 onwards. He served on the Advisory Committee to the Dutch Secretary of State for Culture in 2002, the Selection Committee of the Fonds Beeldende kunsten Vormgeving en Bouwkunst in 2001, and the Project Grants Committee for the Center for Fine Arts, Rotterdam, from 2000 to 2002.

He is represented by the Witzenhausen Gallery in Amsterdam.

Solo exhibitions
 A Sublime Resurrection TBS Winiek Kijvelanden, Roohn, The Netherlands, November 2008
 A Spiritual Moment after Battle Artspace Witzenhausen, Art Amsterdam, the Netherlands, May 2007

Group exhibitions
Group exhibitions have included:
 A Free Entreprise, Van Abbehus-Peninsula, Eindhoven, The Netherlands, September 2008
 The Urban Tendency, London, July 2008
 Art Amsterdam, Amsterdam, May 2008
 Against Nature, Vegas Gallery, London, 2008

Performances
 Ma Vie en Rose, Arminius, Rotterdam
 Chantelle Chanteuse, Zaal de Unie, Rotterdam

References

External links
 Boris Van Berkum

Living people
1968 births
Artists from Rotterdam
Dutch sculptors
Dutch male sculptors
Dutch art curators
Academy of Fine Arts, Prague alumni

Boris van Berkum


The Yamaha DX7 is a synthesizer manufactured by the Yamaha Corporation from 1983 to 1989. It was the first successful digital synthesizer and is one of the best-selling synthesizers in history, selling more than 200,000 units.

In the early 1980s, the synthesizer market was dominated by analog synthesizers. FM synthesis, a means of generating sounds via frequency modulation, was developed by John Chowning at Stanford University, California. FM synthesis created brighter, "glassier" sounds, and could better imitate acoustic sounds such as brass. Yamaha licensed the technology to create the DX7, combining it with very-large-scale integration chips to lower manufacturing costs.

With its complex menus and lack of conventional controls, few learned to program the DX7 in depth. However, its preset sounds became staples of 1980s pop music, used by artists including A-ha, Kenny Loggins, Kool & the Gang, Whitney Houston, Chicago, Phil Collins, Luther Vandross, and Billy Ocean. Its electric piano sound was particularly widely used, especially in power ballads. The English producer Brian Eno was proficient at programming his own sounds, and it was instrumental to his work in ambient music. Chips based on the DX7 sound chip, such as the YM2612 and YM3812, were used in technologies such as the Sega Genesis game console.

The DX7 was succeeded by FM synthesizers including the DX1, DX21, DX27 and DX100. In later years, the DX7 sounds came to be seen as dated or clichéd and its use declined.

Development
By the mid-20th century, frequency modulation (FM), a means of carrying sound, had been understood for decades and was widely used to broadcast radio transmissions. In the 1960s, at Stanford University, California, John Chowning developed FM synthesis, a means of using FM to generate sounds different from analog synthesis. In 1971, to demonstrate its commercial potential, Chowning used FM to emulate acoustic sounds such as organs and brass. Stanford patented the technology and hoped to license it, but was turned down by American companies including Hammond and Wurlitzer. Chowning felt their engineers, who were used to analog synthesis, did not understand FM.

At the time, the Japanese company Yamaha was the world's largest manufacturer of musical instruments but had little market share in the United States. One of their chief engineers visited Stanford and, according to Chowning, "in ten minutes he understood ... I guess Yamaha had already been working in the digital domain, so he knew exactly what I was saying." Yamaha licensed the technology for one year to determine its commercial viability, and in 1973 its organ division began developing a prototype FM monophonic synthesizer. In 1975, Yamaha negotiated exclusive rights for the technology.

Ikutaro Kakehashi, the founder of the Japanese company Roland, was also interested in the technology, but met Chowning six months after Yamaha had agreed to the deal. Kakehashi later said Yamaha were the natural partners in the venture, as they had the resources to make FM synthesis commercially viable.  Yamaha created the first hardware implementation of FM synthesis. The first commercial FM synthesizer was the Yamaha GS1, released in 1980, which was expensive to manufacture due to its integrated circuit chips. At the same time, Yamaha was developing the means to manufacture very-large-scale integration chips. These allowed the DX7 to use only two chips, compared to the GS1's 50. Yamaha also altered the implementation of the FM algorithms in the DX7 for efficiency and speed, producing a sampling rate higher than Stanford's synthesizers. Chowning felt this produced a noticeable "brilliant" sound.

Yamaha displayed a prototype of the DX7 in 1982, branded the CSDX in reference to the Yamaha CS range of analog synthesizers. In late 1982, Dave Bristow and Gary Leuenberger, experts on the Yamaha CS-80, flew to Japan to develop the DX7's voices. They had less than four days to create the DX7's 128 preset patches.

Features

Compared to the "warm" and "fuzzy" sounds of analog synthesizers, the digital DX7 sounds "harsh", "glassy" and "chilly", with a richer, brighter sound. Its presets constitute "struck" and "plucked" sounds with complex transients. Its keyboard spans five octaves, and the keyboard expression allows for velocity sensitivity and aftertouch. The DX7 has 16-note polyphony, meaning 16 notes can sound simultaneously. It has 32 sound-generating algorithms, each a different arrangement of its six sine wave operators. The DX7 was the first synthesizer with a liquid-crystal display, and the first to allow users to name patches.

Sales
The DX7 was the first commercially successful digital synthesizer and remains one of the bestselling synthesizers in history. According to Bristow, Yamaha had hoped to sell more than 20,000 units. Within a year, orders exceeded 150,000 units, and Yamaha had sold 200,000 units after three years.

The DX7 was the first synthesizer to sell more than 100,000 units. Yamaha manufactured units on a scale American competitors could not match; by comparison, Moog sold 12,000 Minimoog synthesizers in 11 years, and could not meet demand. The FM patent was for years one of Stanford's highest earning. Chowning received royalties for all of Yamaha's FM synthesizers.

According to Dave Smith, the founder of the synthesizer company Sequential, "The synthesizer market was tiny in the late 70s. No one was selling 50,000 of these things. It wasn't until the Yamaha DX7 came out that a company shipped 100,000-plus synths." Smith said the DX7 sold well as it was reasonably priced, had keyboard expression and 16 voices, and was better at emulating acoustic sounds than competing products. Chowning credited the success to the combination of his FM patent with Yamaha's chip technology.

Impact
At the time of release, the DX7 was the first digital synthesizer most musicians had used. It was very different from the analog synthesizers that had dominated the market. According to MusicRadar, its "spiky" and "crystalline" sounds made it "the perfect antidote to a decade of analog waveforms".

With complex submenus displayed on an LCD and no knobs and sliders to adjust the sound, many found the DX7 difficult to program. MusicRadar described its interface as "nearly impenetrable", with "operators, algorithms and unusual envelopes ... accessed through tedious menus and a diminutive display". Rather than create their own sounds, most users used the presets.

The presets were widely used in 1980s pop music. The "BASS 1" preset was used on songs such as "Take On Me" by A-ha, "Danger Zone" by Kenny Loggins, and "Fresh" by Kool & the Gang. The "E PIANO 1" preset became particularly famous, especially for power ballads, and was used by artists including Whitney Houston, Chicago, Phil Collins, Luther Vandross, Billy Ocean and Celine Dion. In 1986, it was used in 40% of the number-one singles on the US Billboard Hot 100, 40% of country number ones, and 60% of RnB number ones. The preset imitates a Rhodes piano, prompting some to abandon the Rhodes in favor of the DX7.

A few musicians skilled at programming the DX7 found employment creating sounds for other acts. The English musician Brian Eno learned to program the DX7 in depth and used it to create ambient music on his 1983 album Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks. He shared instructions for recreating his patches in a 1987 issue of Keyboard. Eno used the DX7 on records he produced by U2 and Coldplay. In later years, the DX sounds came to be seen as dated or clichéd, and interest in FM synthesis declined, with second-hand digital synthesizers selling for less than analog. The development of software synthesizers such as Native Instruments FM8 led to a resurgence in the popularity of FM synthesis.

Successors
According to Sound on Sound, throughout the mid-1980s, "Yamaha flooded the market with a plethora of low-cost FM synths." In 1987, Yamaha released the DX7II, which did not match the success of the DX7. Further successors included the TX81Z, DX1, DX11, and DX21. Yamaha manufactured reduced versions of the DX7 sound chip, such as the YM2612, for use in technologies such as the Sega Genesis game console. In 2015, Yamaha released a smaller FM synthesizer, the Reface DX.

References

Further reading

External links

DX7
Polyphonic synthesizers
Digital synthesizers

Yamaha DX7


Timothy Douglas Davie  (born 25 April 1967) is a British media executive currently serving as the seventeenth Director-General of the BBC since 1 September 2020, taking over from Tony Hall. He was previously appointed as the acting director-general of the BBC on 10 November 2012 following the resignation of George Entwistle, until Hall took over the role permanently in April 2013.

Educated at Whitgift School and the University of Cambridge, Davie joined the BBC following a career in marketing. He unsuccessfully stood as a candidate for the Conservative Party in 1993 and 1994 in the Hammersmith and Fulham London Borough Council elections. During his time as acting director-general he oversaw the investigations into BBC management and conduct following revelations the broadcaster had known about sexual abuse by Jimmy Savile.

Early life and career
Davie was born on 25 April 1967 in Croydon, London. He attended Downside School and Whitgift School, a private school, in the London Borough of Croydon on a scholarship between 1980 and 1985. He studied English at Selwyn College, Cambridge. Davie joined Procter & Gamble as a trainee in 1991. Two years later he joined PepsiCo eventually becoming vice-president of marketing and finance before leaving the company in 2005. Davie unsuccessfully stood as a councillor for the Conservative Party in the Hammersmith and Fulham London Borough Council elections in 1993 and 1994 and was deputy chairman of the Hammersmith and Fulham Conservative Association in the 1990s.

BBC career
Davie joined the BBC as Director of Marketing, Communications and Audiences in April 2005, succeeding Andy Duncan. He was Director-General Mark Thompson's first senior external appointment.

In June 2008, it was announced that he was replacing Jenny Abramsky, who served at the BBC for 39 years before leaving to chair the Heritage Lottery Fund.  Appointed Director of Audio & Music, he sat on the BBC's Executive Board with overall responsibility for all of the BBC's national radio networks and the corporation's music output across all media. This included BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 3 and BBC Radio 4; as well as the BBC digital radio stations BBC Asian Network, BBC Radio 1Xtra, BBC Radio 6 Music and BBC Radio 4 Extra (then BBC 7); the three BBC Orchestras based in England; and The Proms. During this time he was involved in abandoned plans to close down Radio 6 Music and the Asian Network. In July 2009 he was on The Guardian'''s list of the 100 most influential people in the media.

Davie took over as acting Director-General on 11 November 2012 following the resignation of George Entwistle in the wake of the Newsnight'' broadcast which did not name any individual but which led to Internet speculation which incorrectly identified Conservative Lord McAlpine in the North Wales child abuse case.  He became chief executive officer of BBC Worldwide following the appointment of Tony Hall. BBC Worldwide merged with the TV-making arm of the BBC, BBC Studios, in April 2018 and Davie served as both the Chief Executive of BBC Studios and a Director globally.

He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2018 Birthday Honours for services to international trade. In 2019 he earned £642,000 and was the BBC's highest paid executive.

In January 2020, Tony Hall announced he was resigning from the Director-General's position before the scheduled end of his tenure. In May 2020, Davie was one of four candidates shortlisted to succeed Hall in the position. On 5 June 2020, it was announced he would become the corporation's seventeenth Director-General from 1 September.

As Director-General

In September 2020, appearing before the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Davie justified the salary of BBC's highest paid star Gary Lineker saying the salary was worth it because of the value of analysis to the viewing audience.

In October 2020, he set out new guidelines for BBC staff, stating that they should avoid expressing their personal views on current issues of political controversy (which he called 'virtue signalling') on their own private social media accounts.  He said this was to reduce perceived bias in the BBC. This would include a ban on news reporters taking part in "public demonstrations or gatherings about controversial issues", with some BBC managers citing trans rights and Black Lives Matter as examples. Davie later said that journalists could attend events such as Pride marches if they were "celebratory" and not "taking a stand on politicised or contested issues".

Davie has stated "As editor in chief of the BBC I think one of our founding principles is impartiality and that's what we are delivering on". A former Tory candidate, Davie announced his intention in August 2020 for the BBC to "find a better balance of satirical targets rather than constantly aiming jokes at the Tories." He has announced his support of the licence fee as opposed to a Netflix style subscription service.

In December 2021, Davie was elected to the Executive Board of the European Broadcasting Union. He was re-elected in December 2022 to serve a further two years on the Board, until December 2024.

In July 2023, Davie released the following statement following the death of George Alagiah:

"Across the BBC, we are all incredibly sad to hear the news about George. We are thinking of his family at this time.

"George was one of the best and bravest journalists of his generation who reported fearlessly from across the world as well as presenting the news flawlessly.

"He was more than just an outstanding journalist, audiences could sense his kindness, empathy and wonderful humanity. He was loved by all and we will miss             him enormously."

Davie oversaw major cuts to BBC Local Radio content in late Summer 2023, resulting in the reduction of locally produced content to just eight hours per day from Monday to Friday and no weekend coverage (with the exception of live men's football commentary). The implementation of the cuts was  criticised, with MPs referring to the redundancy process as "workplace bullying" and the cuts in general as "managing decline". At a parliamentary debate to discuss the cuts on 27 April 2023, an MP described the cuts as "the end of local public service radio".

Directorships

Davie is Chairman of Comic Relief, Trustee of the Tate and the Royal Television Society, and in 2018 was appointed as Chairman of the Creative Industries Council.

Previously, he has been on the boards of Freesat, Digital UK and Children in Need.

Personal life
Davie is married and has three sons. He is a keen runner.

References

External links

1967 births
Alumni of Selwyn College, Cambridge
People from Croydon
BBC executives
BBC Board members
Living people
People educated at Whitgift School
Directors-General of the BBC
Conservative Party (UK) people
British marketing people
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire

Tim Davie


Dance-punk (also known as punk-funk) is a post-punk subgenre that emerged in the late 1970s, and is closely associated with the disco, post-disco and new wave movements. The genre is characterized by mixing the energy of punk rock with the danceable rhythms of funk and disco. It was most prominent in the New York City punk movement.

Predecessors
Many groups in the post-punk era adopted a more danceable style. These bands were influenced by funk, disco, new wave, and other dance music popular at the time (as well as being anticipated by some artists from 1970s including Sparks and Iggy Pop). Influential bands from the 1980s included Talking Heads, Public Image Ltd., New Order and Gang of Four. New York City dance-punk included Defunkt, Material, James Chance and the Contortions, Cristina Monet, Bush Tetras, ESG, and Liquid Liquid. German punk singer Nina Hagen had an underground dance hit in 1983 with "New York / N.Y.", which mixed her searing punk (and opera) vocals with disco beats.

History and themes
In the late 1970s, as the No Wave movement grew in reaction to commercial New Wave music, punk bands such as James Chance and the Contortions, ESG and Liquid Liquid began to experiment with a more dance-friendly sound. Dance punk peaked in the early 1980s and then began to decline until the late 1990s, when it experienced a resurgence. Among the first relevant bands to exploit the genre were London's Gang of Four, New York's Talking Heads, New Order (formerly Joy Division) and Public Image.

Late capitalism and the accompanying ideology of neoliberalism played significant roles in shaping the emergence of dance-punk in the 1970s and its resurgence in the 2000s, providing the overarching framework within which the genre evolved.

The intellectual and aesthetic context of the late 1970s and early 1980s coincided with the birth of dance-punk. During this period, aesthetic theories like postmodernism and poststructuralism gained prominence, challenging the assumptions, grand narratives, and prevailing ideologies of the modern era, all of which influenced the lyrics of dance-punk.

While these excursions into cultural and socioeconomic theory may not immediately seem connected to the realm of dance-punk, they undeniably permeate the genre. Dance-punk emerges as a compromised genre. Its first wave came about in response to the systemic shifts caused by late capitalism and neoliberalism. Its primary objective was to create a communal and alternative scene as a critique of the growing emphasis on neoliberal competition and private accumulation. The second wave of dance-punk materialized in an urban landscape characterized by the presence of the hipster figure, deeply entrenched in creative industries, operating in the symbolic realm rather than the manufactured, and accumulating subcultural capital.

Emerging from the convergence of disco and punk influences, dance-punk exhibits a strong affiliation with urban environments, particularly in the way they are romanticized and portrayed. These spaces, whether they exist in the realm of imagination or reality, conjure up a sense of cosmopolitanism, artistic liberation, and a spirit of defiance against the confines of conventional mainstream culture.

Characteristics
The dance-punk genre, spanning both its first and second waves, occupies a nuanced position along a stylistic spectrum rather than adhering to a rigid set of defining characteristics.

Categorizing dance-punk becomes increasingly complex as certain bands proclaim allegiance to a punk "attitude" while crafting music that leans more towards electronic dance genres. Notably, as a subgenre emerging from the broader post-punk movement, dance-punk shares several common features. These features include "dour (male) vocals with erudite or self-conscious lyrics, accompanied by metallic-sounding, distorted electric guitars playing texturally, not melodically; an accelerated disco beat or dance groove; a melodic bass line; and echoing sound effects borrowed from dub-reggae."

One of the most notable features of dance-punk is a deliberate emphasis on the effective use of space and silence. This approach involves creating minimalist rhythms, avoiding extended guitar solos and deliberately 'stripping back' the sound. [page 103] Within dance punk, minimalism is not just about simplicity; it signifies a sense of directness and systematic order, often drawing parallels with the purity associated with the clean lines and abstractions of modernist art.

The guitar sound in dance punk takes on a unique quality characterized by angularity - a clean and brittle spikiness that departs from traditional riffing or bluesy chords. [page 107] This sonic approach aligns the guitar sound with abstract shapes and architectural elements reminiscent of Constructivism, Suprematism and the Bauhaus movement.

Prominent groove and syncopation are integral to the rhythm of dance punk. The genre strives to create a groove that is fluid, smooth and trance-like, offering an escape from the metrical constraints of capitalism. The groove, with its syncopations, introduces elements of human flexibility and unpredictability, giving the music an affective dimension that is felt rather than intellectually grasped. [page 111] Syncopation, a key component, involves shifting and eliminating predictable accents, aligning rhythms more with speech and orality, emphasizing the human element over mechanistic precision.

"Dryness" is a term often used to describe the sonic quality of dance punk. It denotes a lack of sweetness, warmth, emotion and softness, and conveys a reserved, sardonic and ironic manner. This sense of dryness extends beyond the sound to the lyrics and vocals, particularly in the dance-punk of the 2000s, where it becomes a defining sonic quality, characterized by ironic lyrics and flat vocal delivery.

The lyrical aspect of dance punk sets it apart from many other dance genres. It often adheres to verse-chorus or narrative structures more common in rock music. At its most dance-influenced, however, dance punk uses repetitive phrases to create a trance-like, transcendent effect. This approach has similarities to disco singing, where the repetition of phrases serves to empty language and open the self to divine inspiration through heightened emotional expression.

Dance style
In the 70s, when dance punk emerged, punk bands tried to rebel against society. In the punk scene, rebellion was often expressed through violent dance styles such as thrashing, characterized by head bobbing, flailing arms and exaggeratedly aggressive and energetic movements, and pogo dancing, characterized by jumping in a crowd by throwing oneself against other people. Punk dancing was an amalgamation of these two styles.

Contemporary dance-punk
Although dance-punk faded with the rise of new wave music in the early 1980s, it made a comeback in the late 1990s and early 2000s as part of the post-punk revival. Dance-punk bands emerged from the pop-punk and garage rock revivals of the late 1990s. Well-known are acts such as LCD Soundsystem, Clinic, Death from Above 1979, !!!, Hockey, Liars, Franz Ferdinand, Hot Hot Heat, Foals, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Le Tigre, Bloc Party, Kasabian, You Say Party, Electric Six, the Faint, Arctic Monkeys, the Rapture, Shout Out Out Out Out, and Radio 4, joined by dance-oriented acts who adopted rock sounds such as Out Hud. In the early 2000s Washington, D.C. had a popular and notable punk-funk scene, inspired by Fugazi, post-punk, and go-go acts like Trouble Funk and Rare Essence, including bands like Q and Not U, Black Eyes, and Baltimore's Oxes, Double Dagger, and Dope Body. In Britain the combination of indie with dance-punk was dubbed new rave in publicity for Klaxons and the term was picked up and applied by the NME to bands including Trash Fashion, New Young Pony Club, Hadouken!, Late of the Pier, Test Icicles, and Shitdisco forming a scene with a similar visual aesthetic to earlier raves.

See also
List of dance-punk artists
Art punk
Electropunk
Electronic rock

References

Bibliography
Reynolds, Simon. "Mutant Disco and Punk-Funk: Crosstown Traffic in Early Eighties New York (and Beyond ...)." Rip It Up and Start Again: Post-punk 1978–84. London: Faber and Faber, Ltd., 2005.

Post-disco
Fusion music genres
American styles of music
English styles of music
British rock music genres

Dance-punk


A deicing boot is a type of ice protection system installed on aircraft surfaces to permit a mechanical deicing in flight. Such boots are generally installed on the leading edges of wings and control surfaces (e.g. horizontal and vertical stabilizer) as these areas are most likely to accumulate ice and any contamination could severely affect the aircraft's performance.

Design
A deicing boot consists of a thick rubber membrane that is installed over the surface to be deiced. As atmospheric icing occurs and ice builds up, a pneumatic system inflates the boot with compressed air. This expansion in size cracks any ice that has accumulated, and this ice is blown away into the airflow. The boots are then deflated to return the wing or surface to its optimal shape.

Boots require proper care. Holes in the boot may create air leaks that will decrease the effectiveness of the boots. As such, boots must be carefully inspected before each flight and any holes or cuts must be patched.

History
Deicing boots were invented by the B.F. Goodrich Corporation in about 1929–1930 in Akron, Ohio. The work was begun by retired Ph.D chemist, William C. Geer.  In its quest to develop deicing boots, the company built a large indoor facility in Akron to replicate bad weather and icing on aircraft wings.

Alternatives
The use of deicing boots may enable an aircraft to be certified for flight into known icing conditions. However, they may not be sufficient to handle extremely severe icing, where ice can accumulate faster than the boots can shed it, or it accumulates on non-booted surfaces to the point where there is a dangerous loss of lift or control, or increase in weight.

Deicing boots are most commonly seen on medium-sized airliners and utility aircraft. Larger airliners and military jets tend to use heating systems within the wing, keeping it constantly warm and preventing ice from forming. Sources of heat include:
 Bleed air systems use high-temperature, compressed air from the engine compressor sections, and duct it towards the sections to be de-iced where it delivers its heat before being released into the airflow.
 Electrothermal systems pass electric current through resistive parts, usually the leading edges themselves. These systems require substantial electrical power and are generally used on large aircraft, such as the 787. Resistive deicing may also be applied to propeller and helicopter rotor blades.

Ice bridging
'Ice bridging' is the theory that activating deicing boots early may lead to a condition where slushy ice is pushed into a hollow shell around the inflated boot, then freezes in place. This shell can then no longer be dislodged by any further operation of the boot. Bridging was described by the aviation writer Ernest Gann in his memoir Fate Is the Hunter.

The bridging theory is now disputed. In 2008 the NTSB issued an alert that pilots should, "activate boots as soon as the airplane enters icing conditions". Their claim was that bridging was "extremely rare, if it exists at all" and that there were no instances where it had led to an accident. Unwarranted fear of ice bridging contributed to the fatal crash of Comair Flight 3272.

References

External links
 Investigations of Performance of Pneumatic Deicing Boots, Surface Ice Detectors, and Scaling of Intercycle Ice, FAA report, November 2006
 NTSB Warns Pilots To Use De-Icing Boots Early, AVWeb,  Dec 2008

Aircraft ice protection systems

Deicing boot


The Pontiac Custom S was a  one-year only Pontiac nameplate offered during the 1969 model year car as a replacement for the "Tempest Custom" trim level in the Division's line-up. Originally to be called the "Pontiac TC", it was slotted between the Tempest and LeMans in price and features.

Overview
The Custom S was available in six different body designs: two-door convertible, hardtop coupe, sports coupe, a 4-door sedan, a 4-door hardtop, and a station wagon. The sports coupe can be differentiated from the hardtop by the presence of a vent window in the front door. Interior and exterior appointments fell between the Tempest and the LeMans and GTO.

The Custom S came standard with Pontiac's unique overhead camshaft OHC-6 175 hp 250 in³ engine. Also available was a    TQ OHC inline 6-cylinder with the "Sprint" package, a  overhead valve pushrod V8 350 in³, and a  version of the same engine with higher compression and a 4-barrel carburetor.

Originally planned for 1969 was a lower-priced "econo" muscle car to be based on the Custom S series intended as a competitor to the fast-selling sub-$3,000 Plymouth Road Runner, well below the base $3,500 to $4,500-$5,000 optioned-out GTO and similar upscale muscle cars. This car was to be built on the two-door pillared coupe body style and be powered by the 330-horsepower 350 HO V8 with other equipment including the Custom S's bench-seat interior and exterior with Carousel Red paint, Rally II wheels sans trim rings and sporty striping. This car, which was said to have been named the "Pontiac ET" (for elapsed time), was presented to division officials but rejected as presented. Instead of the lower-priced muscle car concept, Pontiac decided to retain the flamboyant paint job and striping ... and offer it as the expensive "The Judge" option on the GTO.

The Custom S nameplate was dropped after the 1969 model year. For 1970, that series was replaced by a new base LeMans line with the same bodystyles, while the previous up-level LeMans became the LeMans Sport. The entry level Tempest continued for one more year with a new T-37 hardtop coupe added at mid-year, that included a GT-37 option package as lower-priced junior musclecar available with 350 and 400 V8s somewhat similar to the abortive '69 ET series. The T-37 nameplate replaced Tempest entirely for the entry-level Pontiac intermediate series in 1971.

References

Custom S
Rear-wheel-drive vehicles
Convertibles
Coupés
Sedans
1960s cars

Pontiac Custom S


Darth Plagueis is a Sith in the Star Wars universe. He was the teacher of Palpatine. He was first mentioned in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith by Palpatine to Anakin Skywalker and became a character in various novels.

Biography
Darth Plagueis the Wise was a feared Sith Lord who wanted to bring people back to life, including his own. He was killed in his sleep by his apprentice, Darth Sidious.

Reception
After the release of Revenge of the Sith, the Tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise became one of the most memorable scenes of the Star Wars prequel trilogy.

Fictional characters introduced in 2005
Star Wars characters

Darth Plagueis