Electric vehicles are halted by private buyers

Last month, the number of zero emission vehicles sold to private purchasers fell by 25%.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders’ (SMMT) latest figures have prompted it to reduce its forecasts for the percentage of the market that will be electric in 2019.

This news comes as an influential committee of parliament on climate change warns that Britain is stuck in “slow-lane” when it comes to reaping the benefits for the environment by getting more people to switch to zero emission vehicles more quickly.

The industry figures show that in January 2014, 142,000 new vehicles were registered in Britain. This is up by nearly 11,000 compared to the same month in last year. It’s the 18th month in a row of increasing car sales after the fall to 40-year lows due the pandemic.

Nearly 21,000 of these new cars were completely electric. Though this is a 21 percent increase from January 2023 to date, the percentage of zero-emission cars as compared to all new registrations remains at just 14.7%.

The SMMT forecasted that by 2024, electric cars would account for more than 23% of the market — well above the 22.3% figure the government demands under the Zero-Emission Vehicle mandate. The manufacturers who do not meet the target may be fined.

After just one month, the trade association has reduced its forecast for 2024 electric car sales from 21% to 21%.

The sharp drop in private electric car buyers has shocked the industry.

Fleet operators and businesses are driving the market, using generous tax incentives to purchase battery cars in order to reach their net-zero goals. Private buyers bought fewer electric cars last month than they did in January 2023, when there were 5,300.

The government has withdrawn most of its grants and subsidies for private buyers, and consumers are now bearing the brunt from inflation and high rates.

Since September, the electric car market was also hurt when the Prime Minister announced that the UK will not ban the sale of cars powered by internal engines before 2035 and not 2030, as had been previously indicated.

The number of electric vehicles registered by private buyers, fleets, and businesses fell 18% in the last three months. Teslas have seen their sales in the UK fall by 62 percent as the American brand shifts its volume to other markets. One million electric vehicles are on UK roads.

The SMMT has now stepped up its demands that the chancellor help private buyers.

Mike Hawes said that the SMMT chief executive, Mike Hawes stated, “Market growth depends on fleets and businesses.” The government must use its upcoming budget to help private electric vehicle purchasers by temporarily halving the VAT. This will reduce carbon emissions, boost economic growth, and encourage everyone to make the switch. The manufacturers have been asked to provide the vehicles. “We now ask the government to assist consumers in buying the vehicles that net zero depends on.”

Hawes stated that this support would allow another million electric cars to be put on the roads between now and 2026. He did admit that “a number of factors such as high fuel prices, inflation, interest rates and charging anxiety, mixed messages from the government, and other factors have limited demand.”

The House of Lords Environment and Climate Change Committee has taken up this theme in a report that was published over night. It urges the Government to accelerate the transition from carbon-emitting transportation.

The report on electric cars, or EVs EV Strategy: Rapid Charge Needed was launched by Baroness Parminter who headed the inquiry. She said, “The government has to do more to encourage people to buy EVs. Surface transport in the UK is responsible for more than half of CO2 emissions.

If the UK fails to follow our recommendations, it will not reap the benefits of improved air quality. It will also lag behind in the fight against climate change.

The government has set a target of 22 percent zero-emission vehicles for all new cars.

The committee’s investigation found that “a combination higher purchase prices, inadequate charging infrastructure and mixed messages risk people not adopting electric vehicles.”

The committee stated that after the government flipped-flopped on setting a date for the ban of sales of cars with combustion engines, ministers must instill confidence in the consumers about a commitment towards a net zero.

The report stated that consumers needed “a positive vision of the EV Transition” as well as “comprehensive information, which is clear and accurate”.

It makes several recommendations, including reforming the road tax system to provide a clearer picture of future motoring costs. Equalising the value added tax rate on charging is also recommended by reducing 20 percent the VAT rate on public charging points to 5 percent for those who charge their cars at the home using domestic electricity rates.

The other recommendations include incentivizing the sale of used electric cars with a battery health standard for older zero emission vehicles, and a right to charge for tenants and leaseholders living in apartment buildings and multi-occupancy building.

It is also recommended that workplaces install charging points if there is space available, and to review the planning regulations which are often blamed as the reason for the delays in installing public charging points.

Parminter is a former Chief Executive of the Campaign to Protect Rural England. She has stepped down from her position as the head of the Lords Environmental Committee and will be replaced by Baroness Sheehan, a Liberal Democrat peer.