“It’s easy to find tempting deals on electric cars”
There are plenty of good deals to be had on EVs, but editor Paul Barker wonders if they’re what new car buyers really want
For anyone who gets a bit geeky about UK new-car sales, it’s going to be an interesting 2024. Admittedly the regulations that have got the car industry here aren’t so interesting, but in broad terms, 22 per cent of every company’s new-car sales must be battery-electric vehicles in 2024, with that figure rising steadily in future years.
Which is going to be more of a challenge for some firms than others; for example, one-in-five Hondas must be the underwhelming e:Ny1. And the penalties for missing the target are hefty. So brands trying to avoid fines will have to have a big push on their electric cars, probably combined with reduced sales of, and fewer deals on, regular petrol, diesel or hybrid cars in an attempt to balance the books.
From the beginning of the year it’s been clear that a lot of makers are going to struggle, and even in early January it was easy to find tempting deals on electric cars. Which is good news for the consumer – if you want an electric car. In less than 30 seconds on Google last week, I found eight different brands offering zero-per cent finance deals on EVs for immediate delivery. But there’s significantly less value to be had on petrol or hybrid cars, which is still what large swathes of the car-driving population wants.
And that’s a big problem. A dithering Government has kept these EV sales targets in place while knocking back the ban on new petrol and diesel car sales by half a decade to 2035, simultaneously giving the impression that there’s less urgency, while also pushing car makers to sell more EVs than there is natural demand for. And certainly to sell more than many of them have the product offering for.
Rather than forcing new electric cars into the market, the Government should have been giving used buyers the confidence to take the plunge. More used buyers means higher used prices when anyone sells a three-year-old EV, which means the monthly finance payments on a new one will be kept lower. That sounds more sustainable than making car manufacturers sell a quantity of EVs no-one wants, to tick a Government eco box.
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