EVs made up a fifth of new car registrations in January

New data by the Society of Motor Manufactures and Traders (SMMT) has revealed that although the UK car market fell by -2.5 per cent to 139,345 units in January, electric vehicles (EVs) took more than a fifth of new car registrations overall. Whereas new car registrations for petrol and diesel cars fell (by -15.3 per cent and -7.7 per cent respectively), all types of electric vehicle rose.
Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) recorded value growth and had a market share increase of 13.2 per cent and nine per cent respectively. Battery electric vehicles (BEV) registrations saw volumes up by 41.6 per cent year on year to take a 21.3 overall market share.
This means that BEV, HEV and PHEVs comprised a total market share of 49.7 per cent, almost half of the market share.
Despite the increase, however, BEV market share still flags behind the 22 per cent target set by the government last year, and even further behind the 28 per cent requirement for 2025.
Last year, more than £4.5 billion worths of discounts and incentives helped many drivers make the switch to EVs, but more consumers are still hesitant, not helped by the looming Vehicle Excise Duty ‘Expensive Car Supplement (ECS) to BEVs in just two months, meaning EV models costing more than £40,000 will be taxed £3,110 over the first six years of ownership, as compared to zero at the moment.
Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive said: “January’s figures show EV demand is growing — but not fast enough to deliver on current ambitions. Affordability remains a major barrier to uptake, hence the need for compelling measures to boost demand, and not just from manufacturers. The application, therefore, of the ‘Expensive Car Supplement’ to VED on electric vehicles is the wrong measure at the wrong time. Rather than penalising EV buyers, we should be taking every step to encourage more drivers to make the switch, helping meet government, industry and societal climate change goals.”