UK consumers are adopting electric vehicles in ever increasing numbers. And according to one research organisation, the pace of change means the UK government’s 2030 deadline to cut sales of new petrol and diesel cars could be in effect earlier than that.
Think tank New AutoMotive, which monitors electric vehicle adoption, says current trends suggest the UK market is already moving fast towards the new vehicles. It notes that petrol car registrations in July 2023 dropped by 8% of market share, while electric car registrations were up 89.9%. Extrapolate that trend, and consumers will effectively push sales of petrol and diesel cars down to negligible levels by 2028-29.
“Debate about the government’s 2030 target is starting to look academic. Consumers have all but ended the sale of diesel cars already, and are increasingly shunning petrol cars,” said Ben Nelmes, chief executive of New AutoMotive.
“Consumers are voting with their wallets and showing that they prefer to go electric. The biggest thing preventing more people getting in an electric car remains the supply of vehicles – Ministers can fix this by introducing an ambitious ZEV mandate that starts in 2024.”
Keener leasing deals for electric cars have helped drive up registrations, with many company car buyers now switching to benefit from substantially lower car tax. The new registrations for company users will continue to feed more electric cars into the used market, in the next three years, as those vehicles come off lease.
And according to consultant EY, 54% of potential UK car buyers are now considering an electric car for their next vehicle, a figure that has increased from 49% a year ago.
More on the New AutoMotive data here
