Great car deals could be coming as manufacturers try to beat ZEV Mandate targets
Editor Paul Barker thinks car manufacturers would rather lose money on models that count towards the ZEV Mandate quota than pay the fines
It was interesting listening to MG last week, talking about the “brutal” level of discounting going on in the new-car market.
That’s potentially great for consumers, with the deals that will be available as makers scrabble to hit Zero-Emission Vehicle targets that seem increasingly not fit for purpose. But if the controversial ZEV mandate is not actually driving change and helping people willingly make the move into electric cars, then it’s just a penalty on doing business.
I saw some sales figures last week that made for shocking reading about who is buying electric cars. Both the private and fleet markets are fairly static this year compared with 2023, which isn’t great when the fleet sector has traditionally blazed a trail on EVs thanks to the company-car tax incentives.
But the Motability sector – which provides 800,000 disabled people with access to cars – has more than doubled in size in 12 months. Sounds great in principle, but that part of the market is notorious as one where manufacturers push cars they want to get rid of, potentially at big discounts.
The other massive growth area for EVs this year is equally worrying: dealer demonstrator cars. They’re not ‘real’ demo vehicles, though, but cars registered because it’s cheaper for manufacturers to lose money on models that count towards their ZEV mandate quota than it is to pay the fines that will otherwise ensue. Some of the pricing out there is pretty wild, on new EVs in particular.
What it does mean, though, is that Auto Express has picked a great time to launch its new Find a Car service. Once you’ve read our industry-leading news, reviews, opinions, guides and best cars pages, and our popular Deal of the Day stories, you can research and spec your next new car, receiving the best offers from dealers across the country. Which means that in what is a ridiculously turbulent market, you know you’ll be paying the best possible price.
And if you’ve got a car to sell, we launched our Value My Car service earlier this year. Here you can check your car’s worth, and if you want to sell, sit back and wait for bids from our network of more than 5,500 trusted dealers. Come to Auto Express for expert content, but take advantage of a great new way to buy or sell your car, too!
Get a great car deal with the help of Auto Express Express. Click here for our new Find a Car service...
