Public demand for electric cars falls sharply by 14% as fewer than one in 10 private buyers of new cars opt for EVs, figures show
Public demand for electric cars falls sharply by 14% as fewer than one in ten private buyers of new cars opt for electric cars, figures show
- Less than one in ten private buyers of new cars choose electric vehicles (EV)
- EV purchases will require subsidies, says the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders
- In the broader car market, the total number of new vehicles registered is rising sharply
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Electric car sales have hit a bump in the road after demand from private motorists fell sharply last month, figures show.
The drop of 14.3 percent compared to September last year meant that fewer than one in ten private buyers of new cars opted for a battery-powered vehicle.
It is the latest setback in the aim to achieve ‘net zero’ CO2 emissions by 2050.
The 14.3 percent drop from September last year meant that fewer than one in ten private new car buyers opted for a battery-powered vehicle (Stock Image)
Rishi Sunak last month pushed back a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles from 2030 to 2035 – a victory for the Daily Mail.Reconsider tThe 2030 petrol car ban‘ campaign.
However, it is believed the announcement came too late in the month to affect September’s figures.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), which compiled the figures, said the data shows that the purchase of electric cars should be subsidized, as in other countries including France, Germany, Australia and the US.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said the data showed that the purchase of electric cars should be subsidized, as in other countries (Stock Image)
“Unlike the other major markets that are targeting a sales end date of 2035, UK private motorists have no purchasing incentive to encourage them to invest in electric mobility,” the SMMT said.
Figures for the wider car market show that the total number of new vehicles registered rose sharply in September, by 21 percent to 272,610.
Most of the increase in demand came from business buyers, although consumer purchases grew 5.8 percent to 122,944.
Demand for battery-electric vehicles remained strong overall, thanks to corporate buyers converting their fleets, boosting growth from 18.9 percent to 45,323.
Yet for ordinary motorists there was a drop of 14.3 percent to 11,684.