Huge increase in electric vehicle discounts

Average discounts on new electric vehicles have increased by 204 per cent since last January, according to car-buying brand What Car?.  

Analysis of the discounts available through What Car?’s new car deals service has revealed that, from January 2023 to January this year, the average cash and finance discount on EVs rose from 2.4 per cent to 7.5 per cent.

Steve Huntingford, What Car? editor, said: "With some brands offering up to a fifth off the price of an EV, the importance of shopping around has never been clearer.”

Average electric car discount amounts to £4,603, with six manufacturers offering double-digit percentage savings.

Honda currently offers the biggest average percentage saving on electric cars, at 20.6 per cent.

The growth of EV discounts has overtaken those for petrol, diesel and hybrid models, where the average discount over the last 12 months rose by only 36 per cent.
 
A drop in demand for EVs among private buyers is believed to be fuelling the discounts. As well as this, the UK Government’s new ZEV Mandate (which requires car manufacturers to achieve a 22 per cent sales mix of EVs in 2024, or face heavy fines) has only added to the pressure to shift EVs.