Global Motor Media
  • Home
  • Blog
    • Car Reviews
      • Electric Cars
      • Custom Cars
      • Classic Cars
      • Muscle Cars
    • Product Reviews
    • Knowledge
    • Funny Things
  • Coloring Pages
  • Stock Photos
  • LietuviškaiLietuviškai
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Blog
    • Car Reviews
      • Electric Cars
      • Custom Cars
      • Classic Cars
      • Muscle Cars
    • Product Reviews
    • Knowledge
    • Funny Things
  • Coloring Pages
  • Stock Photos
No Result
View All Result
Global Motor Media
No Result
View All Result
Home Knowledge

Electric car sales exploded in the UK during Covid-19. Why?

Irmantas B. by Irmantas B.
22/01/2023
in Knowledge
Reading Time: 5 mins read
0
0
Electric car sales jump in the UK during the Covid-19 crisis

If you didn’t already know, 2019 was a challenging year for the automotive industry. A perfect storm of Brexit, diesel-gate and electrification had been brewing. Then in 2020, Covid-19 struck. But despite the challenging headwinds, there are positive signs of recovery, particularly with electric car sales.

Year to date, UK new car registrations are down -31% in 2020, compared to the previous year. To put that into context, the UK automotive industry generates £78.9 billion in annual turnover and employs over 1 million people.

New car registrations in the UK as of October 2019 and 2020
Infogram

Why have electric car sales increased during covid-19?

Recent sales of electric vehicles have exploded. Year to date (ending October) SMMT figures show BEV sales (battery-powered electric vehicles) up 168.7% y-o-y, PHEV sales (plug-in hybrid electric vehicles) up 91.5% and HEV sales (hybrid electric vehicles) up 11%.

EV SALES
Infogram

And it’s not all Tesla either. Across Europe, the most popular plug-in electric vehicle is the Renault Zoe, closely followed by the Tesla Model 3. The Volkswagen e-Golf, Audi e-Tron and Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV make up the rest of the top 5 (source: EV volumes).

But what’s the story behind these numbers?

There are four key reasons for the growth of electric car sales.

  • Changes in company car tax – Back in April 2020, changes were made to benefit in kind company car tax. To incentivise the transition to the UK’s carbon-neutral future, zero-emission vehicles will pay no tax in the current fiscal year. As a result, businesses up and down the UK are switching their fleets to electric.
  • Greater choice of electric vehicles – Car manufacturers have responded quickly to changing government regulations. As a result, consumers now have a much greater choice of an electric vehicle to choose from. This improved choice is fuelling consumer demand.
  • Improved vehicle range and nationwide infrastructure – Not only are there more options but the cars themselves are getting better. For years, lack of infrastructure and vehicle range held back electric vehicle take-up. However, newer electric vehicles have significantly improved ranges. Not only that, the recent government rollout of nationwide EV charge points and some innovative partnerships from manufacturers, means there is far more EV infrastructure in the UK. This has made electric vehicles more attractive than ever before.
  • Longer lead times mean electric vehicle sales have been less impacted by Lockdown – Compared to their petrol counterparts, electric vehicles have longer lead times between order and delivery. Many electric vehicles would have been pre-ordered before Lockdown started, minimising their exposure to disruption.

Future car sales performance

Growing electric vehicle sales are here to stay. A view shared by Citroën boss, Vincent Cobee. Speaking at a launch event for the new C4, Cobee said that low-emission vehicles – including plug-in hybrids and EVs – currently make up around 6% of the sales mix at PSA Group, but he expects that figure to rise sharply in a post-Covid world.

According to Cobee, the key factors driving this transition are changing customer attitudes, increasing development of electric infrastructure and new emissions regulations from European governments.

Given the winds of change across the automotive industry, it’s only a matter of time until electric vehicles become the ‘new normal’. For most of us reading this, it’s unlikely we will ever buy another petrol or diesel engine again.

The death of diesel

But the growth of electric vehicles has created declines elsewhere. Petrol sales, and in particular diesel sales, are down by -38.9% and -55.1% respectively. These are huge declines. And with Boris Johnson’s UK government set to announce a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030, it’s clear the days of the combustion engine are limited.

There’s also the matter of a car’s resale value to contend with. Given the average life cycle of new and used cars, and the impending 2030 ‘cut-off’, manufacturers will be keen to minimise their exposure to declining petrol and diesel re-sale values. Expect the petrol and diesel new registration ‘tap’ to be turned off relatively quickly.

Conclusion

After several false dawns, electric vehicles are set to become the mainstay of British roads and motorways. Expect petrol pumps to make way for charge points, and EV sales to continue growing at the expense of petrol and diesel engines for years to come.

The age of the electric vehicle is finally here.

Advice for owning electric vehicles

More advice for owning electric vehicles – including costs (taxes, insurance, servicing, resale values), government subsidies for EVs, and tips for charging at home or for long journeys you can find here: “The Next Decade of Electric Cars: What You Should Know [Full Guide]”

Electric vehicle safety rating guide

In this guide The Full Guide To Understanding electric vehicles and their safety ratings” you will find out what it means to drive an EV, while also taking a detailed look at the safety ratings and standards which determine their roadworthiness.

Tags: car saleselectric carsnews

Related Posts

The Best Vehicles for First-Time Car Owners
Knowledge

The Best Vehicles for First-Time Car Owners

22/03/2023
The Different Types of Off-Roading Adventures
Knowledge

The Different Types of Off-Roading Adventures

21/03/2023
Most Common Towing Mistakes New Truck Owners Make
Knowledge

Most Common Towing Mistakes New Truck Owners Make

19/03/2023
car coloring pages for kids and adults car coloring pages for kids and adults car coloring pages for kids and adults

Instagram

  • Made my day. Funny!!! 🤣
Thanks to @hemilife44 for this amazing content. 😃👍

👉Tag your photo/video to get featured #globalmotormedia .

#cars #carsofinstagram #carswithoutlimits #carblogger #carblog #automotive #carvideo #funnyvideos #tuning #crazyvideo #crazyvideos #carlovers #carlove #lol #pneumatic #whatacar #motor #wheels
  • Good evening everyone! What a good time to play with your car before going to sleep! 😍

Can you do that? 🔥

👉Follow @ibphotomedia for more great content.
👉Check  my blog www.globalmotormedia.com, follow @globalmotormedia and tag your car to get featured by using #globalmotormedia .👍

----‐-------------------------‐----------------------‐-

#bmw #bmwe36 #bmwgram #carporn #burnout #e36 #bmw3 #carlifestyle #supercars #3series ⁣#passion #drifting #mpower #blacklist #carsofinstagram #orange #bmwfamily #classiccars #stanceworks #bmwlove #bmwmotorsport #cars #biržaisquad #lithuaniacars #automobiliai #automobiliailietuva #bmwlietuva #automanas
  • Coloring has many benefits, and it isn’t just for kids. These benefits include reducing anxiety and stress, improving sleep, vision, and emotional and intellectual awareness by exercising the brain through a challenging yet invigorating exercise.

Also, this activity gets the creative juices active with the aid of color choices that bring the desired pictures to mind. It’s also a great activity to bid the day a farewell by lying in bed and coloring.

👉Our unique coloring pages for all ages you can find in our store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/GLOBALMOTORMEDIA

#globalmotormedia #automotiveblog #carblog #etsy #etsyuk #etsysale #coloringbook #coloringpages #ColoringActivity #carcoloring #carcoloringpages #carcoloringbook #coloringvehicles #download
  • About
  • Contact Us
  • Terms Of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Comment policy
  • Affiliate disclaimer
  • Sitemap

© 2022 Global Motor Media - Automotive Blog with a focus on uniqueness.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Blog
    • Car Reviews
      • Electric Cars
      • Custom Cars
      • Classic Cars
      • Muscle Cars
    • Product Reviews
    • Knowledge
    • Funny Things
  • Coloring Pages
  • Stock Photos

© 2022 Global Motor Media - Automotive Blog with a focus on uniqueness.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In