Big discounts help EV sales surge in UK as electric prices match petrol and diesel

The market for electric vehicles in the UK has held up well in the latest month, with a price war delivering price parity for a number of EV models.

Nearly 300,000 battery electric vehicles (BEVs) have hit roads in the United Kingdom so far this year, accounting for 18.1 per cent of the new car market, and recording the only growth in October in an otherwise lacklustre market.

The latest data from the UK’s Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) reveals that the new car market fell by 6 per cent in October, but sales of battery electric vehicles leaped by 24.5 per cent, year on year, to 29,802 to take a 20.7 per cent share of the market.

Most notable is the double-digit decline in sales of both petrol and diesel vehicles, falling 14.2 per cent and 20.5 per cent respectively. Hybrid and plug-in hybrid sales were also down, however, though at a much-reduced rate.

There are now more than 125 different BEV models to choose from in the UK– an increase of 38 per cent so far this year. And massive discounting means that around one in five BEV offerings have  a lower purchase price than the average petrol or diesel car.

The SMMT describes this level of support to drive EV uptake, however, as unsustainable in the long term, especially in the face of wavering government support.

The UK market is very much up and down. October’s EV sales, as good as they look, are actually 47 per cent down from the 56,387 registered in September. By contrast, there were 19,113 new BEVs registered in August, 27,335 in July, 34,034 in June, and 26,031 in May.

And sales of new BEVs is still short of the 22 per cent target set for 2024 and the 28 per cent target which must be achieved in 2025 under the country’s Vehicle Emissions Trading Scheme.

“Massive manufacturer investment in model choice and market support is helping make the UK the second largest EV market in Europe,” said Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive.

“That transition, however, must not perversely slow down the reduction of carbon emissions from road transport. Fleet renewal across the market remains the quickest way to decarbonise, so diminishing overall uptake is not good news for the economy, for investment or for the environment.

“EVs already work for many people and businesses, but to shift the entire market at the pace demanded requires significant intervention on incentives, infrastructure and regulation.”