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The UK is poised to rival Germany to become Europe’s biggest electric vehicle market by 2024 after carmakers shelled out £4.5 billion in concessions to switch from internal combustion cars.
Figures from the Association of Motor Manufacturers and Traders show that EVs accounted for 19.6 per cent of new cars sold in the UK last year. This is the year This is higher than the 16.5% seen in 2023, but still below the 22% required in the UK. Electric vehicle Quota scheme.
The total number of EVs sold in UK It grew 21 percent to a record 382,000 for the year, higher than the 347,048 sold in Germany between January and November. EV sales in Germany fell 26 percent last year after subsidies were cut. Annual sales figures will be announced later this month.
SMMT boss Mike House said: “We will be competing for the top spot. “It will be touch and go between the two markets.”
The share of EV sales in the UK reached 31% in December, which is usually a quiet month for car sales, and last-minute EV sales could boost their market share.
Despite strong sales growth, House warned that retail demand for EVs remains sluggish, with only one in 10 private consumers opting for an electric model. That has forced many automakers to offer incentives to persuade consumers to buy EVs as they scramble to meet the government’s “zero-emission vehicle mandate.”
The current plan calls for a certain percentage of each automaker’s annual sales to be zero-emission vehicles, rising from 22 percent in 2024 to 28 percent this year and 80 percent by 2030. Companies face a fine of £15,000. For each missed vehicle.
“I want to give a very positive narrative that this has been a record year for zero emission vehicle sales. But when you set a target and don’t meet it, that’s seen as a failure,” House said.
While the SMMT has calculated that carmakers will have to spend £1.8bn to buy credits for the past year, the Department for Transport’s flexibility in the current scheme means none of the fines. He said “boldly” that it would not happen to them. In the year 2024.
The ZEV mandate – drawn up by the former Conservative government – has warned that pushing too fast could cost jobs when sales are expected to increase significantly.
Labor ministers are now considering watering down the rules to make it easier for carmakers to meet the target, and last month The consultation began On the plan.
The consultation will outline which hybrid cars can be sold with zero-emissions models between 2030 and 2035, as well as the way carmakers can buy credits from competitors to meet the target.
Even automakers that are on track to meet the goal warn that more incentives are needed to help the industry meet its ever-increasing targets over the next decade.
Although anyone who buys an EV through the company’s car scheme can receive generous tax treatment, end-user purchase incentives were wound up several years ago, something automakers say has made it harder to sell models that are still more expensive than gasoline equivalents.
In the year Kia, which is on track to hit its targets by 2024 and 2025, has warned it may still need more help later.
The transition from 33 per cent in 2026 to 80 per cent in 2030 is a major achievement, UK head Paul Phipott said.
The brand, which is a subsidiary of South Korea’s Hyundai Motor, reported record sales thanks to demand for hybrids and fully electric models.
“The current boost will serve as a real positive incentive to build that momentum even faster and make the achievement of the target even clearer in the years ahead.”
The DfT said it had “invested more than £2.3bn to support the industry and consumers to upgrade, rolling out more than 72,000 public chargers and launching a consultation to invite the sector to shape how we achieve the transition to ZEVs”.
