BEV registrations year-to-date reached 20.9% market share, but it is still behind the 28% mandated by regulation, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has warned.
The news comes as the UK’s new car market returned to growth in May, as registrations rose 1.6% to 150,070 units, according to the latest data from the SMMT.
It also follows separate figures from New Automotive revealing the sector continued to grow in May with new battery electric car (BEV) registrations growing by 28% compared to the same month last year.
The SMMT data showed registrations of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) rose by 25.8%, accounting for 21.8% of the market as manufacturers continued to support sales with attractive incentives. Demand for the overall latest electrified models increased dramatically too, taking a combined 47.3% market share.
Uptake of hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) grew by 6.8% to 20,351 units, while plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) were up more than half (50.8%) to 17,898.
But it warned that “significant discounting” was still being used for EVs, and “the current market situation is unsustainable for a sector already facing multiple cost pressures”.
Fleets and businesses drove the growth, up 3.7% and 14.4% respectively and responsible for 62.6% of registrations, while interest from private buyers fell for the second consecutive month, down 2.3%.
Despite the concern on EVs, there continued to be double digit declines in deliveries of both petrol and diesel cars – down 12.5% and 15.5%.
The SMMT said that halving VAT on new EV purchases would put 267,000 additional new EVs – rather than fossil fuel vehicles – on the road in the next three years and drive down CO2 emissions by six million tonnes a year.
Removing EVs from the VED Expensive Car Supplement and equalising VAT paid on public charging to that levied at home would also “send a signal that now is the time to switch”.
The latest figures also showed that more than 135 BEV models were now available – up from 106 last year – while there are also just over 100 PHEVs and nearly 50 HEVs.
SMMT Chief Executive Mike Hawes said:
“A return to growth for new car registrations in May is welcome but manufacturer discounting on new products continues to underpin the market, notably for electric vehicles. This cannot be sustained indefinitely as it undermines the ability of companies to invest in new product development – investments which are integral to the decarbonisation of all road transport.
“Next week’s Spending Review is the opportunity for government to double down on its commitments to Net Zero by driving demand through fiscal measures that boost the market and shore up our competitiveness.”
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