Stalled growth in electric vehicles comes despite government goal to phase out petrol, diesel and hybrid vehicles by 2035

The number of new cars registered in the UK has jumped by nearly 18% but electric vehicle demand is flatlining, prompting the industry to call for a VAT cut to stimulate sales.

Annual figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) on Friday show 1.9m new cars were registered last year, well up on the previous year’s figure of 1.6m and the highest level since the 2.3m registrations of 2019.

The increase is a boost for the automotive industry after the pandemic led to supply chain problems and a shortage of vital computer chips that slowed production.

Across the year, 315,000 new battery electric vehicles were sold. That was 50,000 more than 2022, but the number being bought as a share of total registrations failed to grow as expected. They represented just 16.5% of the total, slightly down on last year’s 16.6%.

  • The Snark UrgeEnglish
    2•6 months ago

    I guess it has more to do with worries about the cost of electricity.

    • Daniel QuinnEnglish
      4•6 months ago

      Or the cost of cars in the midst of a cost of living crisis. E-bikes are cheap by comparison and only about £14/year for electricity.

      • The Snark UrgeEnglish
        1•6 months ago

        I would an entire e-bike if I had a commute. Rare WFH L. 😑

      • @DocusEnglish
        11•6 months ago

        No, it isn’t, not in the UK. My EV does run cheaper than an equivalent petrol car when charging at home, but when charging on motorways, which I have to do on longer runs, it’s actually more expensive to run than petrol.

          • @[email protected]English
            1•6 months ago

            Considering the number of people who don’t have a driveway, public charging points are really the only option.

            I’m not sure what I’ll do when they force me to buy electric and move of ICE. There are four charging points at the big Tesco’s, none at Sainsbury’s or Waitrose and none of the petrol stations have charge points. It’s just not viable for me.

            • @CortEnglish
              2•6 months ago

              Dumb question from an American: why doesn’t the national grid install roadside chargers? They could put them everywhere and then have a card or NFC fob to link the charges back to your account with your provider of choice. That way people without a driveway could charge at the same electric rate they pay at home.

              • @[email protected]English
                3•6 months ago

                Nothing.

                Except we keep voting for people who are giving away new oil fields rather than planning for our future.

        • GreatAlbatrossMEnglish
          1•6 months ago

          This fully explains the non-stop adverts I’ve been getting for a certain large petrol company now installing EV chargers.
          They want to get in on charging while the margin is still 200% of electricity cost, and make that normal.