Record month for EV sales, but critics say the Electric Car Grant isn’t working

September saw the greatest number of electric cars ever registered in a single month in the UK, however, critics are still wondering whether the £650 million Electric Car Grant is actually convincing EV sceptics to make the switch.

Last month, a total of 72,779 new EVs were registered in the UK. That’s the equivalent of 23 per cent of the 312,887 cars of all fuel types registered. The high number of registrations can be attributed to the arrival of the new ‘75’ numberplate, although this is not the highest EV market share there has ever been. In August, 26.5 per cent of new cars were EVs and the year-to-date average proportion of 22 per cent remains stubbornly below the government’s strict Zero Emissions Mandate target of 28 per cent for 2025.

In fact, while September is the first full month in which the government’s new Electric Car Grant was available, there’s little evidence of the discount shifting petrol and diesel buyers towards EVs. Many critics suggest that the current set-up is simply an extra bonus for consumers that were planning to choose an electric vehicle anyway.

Policy manager for research organisation New AutoMotive, David Farrar said: “The Electric Car Grant has sent a strong signal of government commitment to EVs, supporting consumer confidence, the expanding used market and green jobs in markets closer to home. But it isn't yet clear that it's prompting consumers to consider buying cars that they wouldn't have gone ahead and bought anyway.”

New AutoMotive points out that the ECG scheme has probably already cost the taxpayer as much as £31 million in a single month and that, at the current rate, it could run out in just two years.

“Policies at no taxpayer cost at all could support 10 million [people] in making the switch by lowering the cost of public charging and making it easier to charge at home,” Farrar explained.

The EV grant is currently offered in two tiers – £1,500 and £3,750 – and although only a handful of cars qualify for the full amount, other reactions to its introduction from within the industry have been more positive.

Thom Groot is CEO of salary sacrifice firm, The Electric Car Scheme, and says the latest monthly registration data “represent[s] a positive step for the EV industry but more importantly, lays the foundation for a potentially transformative Q4 for BEV registrations.”

“The added incentive of government grants to increase affordability of EVs even further, combined with the existing salary sacrifice, will hopefully push the industry over the affordability tipping point,” Groot continued.

Regardless, with new car registrations in general up 13.7 per cent year-on-year and last month delivering the best September figure since 2020, the SMMT’s CEO Mike Hawes highlighted how: “Electrified vehicles are powering market growth after a sluggish summer – and with record ZEV uptake, massive industry investment is paying off, despite demand still trailing ambition.”

In contrast to EV sales which are up 29 per cent year on year, diesel sales plummeted by 28 per cent to just four per cent of new car registrations in September. Petrol cars still take the lion’s share of registrations at 45 per cent (up two per cent), while the plug-in hybrid and full hybrid markets are both seeing significant growth, rising by 56 per cent and 24 per cent year-on-year to a market share of 12 per cent and 15 per cent in September.

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