Electric car demand plunges with UK sales target in doubt
Electric car
The car industry is on course to miss its legal net zero targets after electric vehicle sales to private consumers plunged by a fifth.
A total of 22,717 electric cars were registered in April, an increase of 10.7pc compared to a year earlier, but this was overwhelmingly driven by businesses.
Sales to private consumers made up just 15.6pc of this, down from 22.1pc in 2023, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
The actual number of electric cars sold to private consumers fell from 4,535 to 3,544, a drop of 22pc.
On Tuesday, the SMMT warned that electric vehicles (EVs) were now facing a “diminishing market share” with manufacturers set to significantly miss new sales targets put in force by the Government.
Car companies including the owner of Vauxhall have previously warned that customers are moving into EVs more slowly than the law allows.
In April, overall EV market share among businesses and consumers rose from 15.4pc to 16.9pc on an annual basis.
The SMMT is forecasting that of two million cars set to be registered in 2024, just 19.8pc will be electric – down from a previous estimate of 21pc.
That means at least some car makers are on course to miss the target set by the Government’s zero emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate, which requires at least 22pc of sales to be electric from this year. Companies that miss the target are at risk of being fined. The SMMT does not break down its forecasts by manufacturer.
The ZEV mandate ratchets up further annually until it reaches 80pc in 2030, before a ban on the sale of new petrol cars in 2035.
In response to the latest figures, the SMMT reiterated calls for the Government to reinstate financial incentives for consumers buying electric cars – following the scrapping of the plug-in grant in 2022 – and said more needed to be done to ensure charging infrastructure was adequate.
It has previously demanded a cut in VAT on EV purchases that it claims would turbocharge demand.
The warning comes after figures from Auto Trader revealed that new EVs sold on the platform were being listed at record discount levels as dealerships struggled to shift them.
Manufacturers have previously warned that heavy discounting is not sustainable, however, with the boss of Vauxhall owner Stellantis claiming it could force the brand to cut the number of vehicles it sells in the UK.
Mike Hawes, the SMMT’s chief executive, said, “Although attractive deals on EVs are in place, manufacturers cannot fund the mass market transition single-handedly.
“Temporarily cutting VAT, treating EVs as fiscally mainstream not luxury vehicles, and taking steps to instil consumer confidence in the chargepoint network will drive the market growth on which Britain’s net zero ambition depends.”
At the same time, April’s figures showed growing sales of plug-ins and hybrids which rose by 22.1pc and 16.7pc respectively.
Plug-ins represented 7.8pc of the market, while hybrids accounted for 13.1pc.
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