Almost 1 in 5 new cars is an EV, but it isn’t enough to hit UK targets

The UK car industry has once again called on the government to incentivise private sales of EVs. While almost one in five new cars sold last month were electric, demand still lags behind what is required by the strict ZEV mandate rules.

In July 2024, market share for EVs rose by 18.8 per cent to an overall share of 18.5 per cent. This may seem like good news for the UK’s transition to electric power, but EV market share still idles at just 16.5 per cent year-to-date, which is a long way away from the 19.8 per cent that the industry was previously hoping to achieve by the end of 2024 and the 22 per cent required for each manufacturer under the new ZEV mandate rules.

The drive to increase EV sales isn’t helped by waning support from private buyers; the cost of buying a new electric car remains relatively high compared to the petrol equivalent, despite the arrival of some cheaper new EV models in recent months. Thus, units sold privately account for roughly only 17 per cent of EV registrations, despite the overall volume of sales rising marginally by around one per cent.

Representing the UK’s car industry, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) chief executive, Mike Hawes, said that the muted private demand for EVs is “the over-riding concern”.

“More people than ever are buying and driving EVs but we still need the pace of change to quicken, else the UK’s climate change ambitions are threatened and manufacturers’ ability to hit regulated EV targets are at risk.”

Hawes called for the UK government to bring “action on incentives” – the SMMT previously called for VAT to be slashed on EVs bought privately, as well as a tax cut on public charging – ahead of the new 74-registration plate coming in September.

It’s not all bad news, though; car sales overall were up by 2.5 per cent last month, marking two years of sustained growth since the COVID-19 pandemic and other geopolitical events, took their toll on the industry.

Now, the SMMT expects the Bank of England’s recent cut in interest rates to make car finance cheaper and more accessible than it was before, catering to what it calls a “pent-up demand”.

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