EV Sales Falter As Private Purchasers Remain Unconvinced
By Paul Homewood
Electric vehicle demand continues to falter and just one in four new battery cars are purchased by private buyers, according to latest industry data.
The number of car registrations across all fuel types grew 14.3 per cent and saw the most motors sold in an October for five years, new Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) data shows.
However, appetite for EVs is dwindling and it means manufacturers are now at real risk of missing costly targets requiring them to increase their zero-emission car sales from January.
The automotive trade body has reacted by calling on the Chancellor to ‘introduce incentives and facilitate infrastructure investment’ in the upcoming Autumn Statement in a bid to boost EV uptake.
A total of 153,529 car registrations in October was 7.2 per cent above pre-pandemic levels and the best performance in the month since 2018.
However, the statistics reveal that EV uptake isn’t accelerating as fast as manufacturers need it to in order to avoid costly penalties levied from 2024.
The data shows that EV uptake did grow for a 42nd consecutive month in October, rising 20.1 per cent year-on-year with 23,943 registrations in total.
Yet, private registrations accounted for fewer than one in four EVs bought, with large fleets fuelling the majority of sales in a stark indication that consumer demand is waning.
The volume of registrations last month means EVs made up only 15.6 per cent of all car sales, which is a long way short of the 22 per cent required of manufacturers from next year when the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate is introduced.
The annually-increasing thresholds of the mandate were rubberstamped in September, just days after the Government confirmed the delay to the ban sales of new petrol and diesel cars by five years from 2030 to 2035 – a move experts say has played a significant part in stalling electric car demand in recent weeks.
Mainstream car makers that fail to meet the ZEV’s increasing sale targets from next year face substantial penalties or will be forced to purchase EV credits from other brands, such as Tesla and Polestar that only sell battery cars.
Fines amount to £15,000 for every car short of the binding targets. For vans, manufacturers will have to pay £9,000 per vehicle next year, before the van payment increases to £18,000 for the rest of the regulation’s timeframe.
Full story
Private buyers account for about 44% of all car sales.
Working back from the SMMT data, private sales of BEVs must have been about 5900 in October, out of a total private registrations of 62915. In other words, BEVs only account for 9% of private sales.
There is only so much appetite for EVs amongst business and fleet buyers, so the government is going to get nowhere its targets whilst thee private market remains moribund
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NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT 
You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make them drink!
Using a stick to enforce the net zero BEV mandate is provoking a resistance reaction from the general public, either use the carrot approach, with mammoth subsidies OR realise that net zero is unachievable.
You can lead a car manufacturer to water, hold their head under and wait for them to drown it seems.
It seems the car manufacturers favour the mammoth subsidies, but I guess that’s because they’re all geared up to make loads of EVs. Trouble is, any mammoth subsidies come not from “the Govt” but from taxpayers’ money. So we’d be bribed to buy EVs with our own money.
Except the carrot of these ‘mammoth subsidies’ are themselves a stick, as we’re all forced to pay for them. There is no such thing as ‘free’ money.
Net Zero IS unachievable and also undesirable and also counter-productive and also impoverishing as countries with more sense jack up their prices.
It’s taking a long hard time to get this message across!
Mike, I listened to the BBC News at One when they interviewed a senior Tory (name forgotten) explaining to that very unbiased Evan Davies that the Government was determined to ensure the country had very good energy security and, at the same time, deliver a net-zero society. I can’t put into words what I shouted at the radio nor the claims I made for the speaker’s parentage. I really cannot believe there are sentient human beings governing our country who do not know that the two ambitions are mutually exclusive.
Re: big taxpayer-funded subsidies
People do not want EV’s. At ANY price. You could not GIVE me one (unless I could turn around and easily sell it for something).
There is no future for EVs unless the idiots in power realise, and deal with, the following:
The ranges quoted for EVs are a gross exaggeration and bear precious little resemblance to the real world ranges – especially at this time of the year with car heaters, wipers, heated seats etc.
A maximum starting range that is around the sort of figure where people driving ICE cars are starting to think of filling up; is still nowhere near good enough.
In view of the above two points, the charging infrastructure is, quite frankly, a disgrace if politicians really believe that we should switch.
How can we have a serious charging point infrastructure given the state of the country’s energy supplies. We can scarcely cope with demand now so how on earth are we supposed to cope if there is a surge in demand for EVs?
Re the charging infrastructure the SMMT report says 4753 new chargepoints came live during the quarter and installations were disproportionately focused on London and the South East, despite the region accounting for fewer than 2 in 5 new plug in registrations. In contrast Yorkshire and Humberside had just 13 installed and the North had 105 taken OUT of service.
The UK’s North – South divide continues apace.
I think the biggest problem to be solved is making bevs safe. Not simply from spontaneous self combustion but from catching fire started elsewhere and making the fire far, far worse.
I do occasional volunteer work for Lord and Lady X at their stately home. There is an enormous electric Rangerovery thing always on charge where I enter. I spoke to the driver and he told me unprompted, that it had a range of 60 miles!
And when the huge fines start to kick in next year what then? Manufacturers swallow the cost and take a profit nosedive, or pass the surcharge onto ICE customers and see ICE sales collapse?
Either way they are shafted. Well done to the government. How to kill new car sales by central planning and crazy objectives. You cannot buck the market, it will always win in the end. Great news for parts manufacturers, mechanics and second hand car sales though.
And this from a supposed Conservative government. What next – Soviet-style production quotas and glorious announcements each week in Pravda?
Yep. Used ICE market set for a boom.
I’ve just bought a second (2nd hand) diesel 4×4 identical to the one i have now so i’ll be able use my older one for spare parts for the newer one as I drive them into a very old age.
Spot on!
They pull out of the market. If what they make won’t sell, and they get fined when it doesn’t sell, nobody stays in a market. Quite how the legislation to fine businesses that don’t make a product people want got ghtough parliament is beyond me.
I presume the standard is a ratio between BEV and ICE cars.
‘The volume of registrations last month means EVs made up only 15.6 per cent of all car sales, which is a long way short of the 22 per cent required of manufacturers from next year’
So ICE sales will become a function of BEV sales. Mfg aren’t going to pay fines, they will just make fewer ICE. And fewer and fewer as the years pass.
If ev’s are unable to compete on a level playing field they are not ready for the market.
No surprise. This (to me) is a wilful and deliberate sabotage of the UK car making – and more importantly – car OWNING sector.
Whoever is steering this (so called) ‘government’ knew there could never be enough infrastructure to charge 20+m cars.
Whether we like it or not – whether it’s unpalatable to idiotic young snots in orange vests or not – we have a car economy. Dr Beeching put a nail in any other coffin in 1963 when he performed a comprehensive hatchet-job on the networks.
It will take time to transition off fossil-fuelled economies – and no ’15 minute cities’, or ‘Net Zero’ nonsense will alter this. Roger Hallam is in prison. I’d love to see all those globalists funding societal disruption in prison cells next to him, but I’m not holding my breath on that one..
To be honest, our MPs are so thick that they couldn’t conceive of a policy to reduce our car ownership so I put it down to the usual unintended consequence of government policy resulting from their lack of intelligence.
Not Dr Beeching. He wanted buses on the closed lines. It was the next LIEBORE govt. that sold the land off to prevent this.
No intention of 20 million cars. Cars will be for the State ´elite ´ not you plebs.
They will start giving grants for EV purchases equal to the fines imposed on missing EV sales targets. ICE net prices increase, EV net prices decrease. The MOT requirements for ICE vehicles will be ratcheted upwards making ownership of older ICE cars prohibitive.
A lot of people will give up car ownership, which is what they really want.
“A lot of people will give up car ownership ”
Then what? I guess we all move to an apartment next to a grocery store. Movement for most people, other than walking, will require autonomous vans powered by batteries. The charging of the thousands of vans comes after that part of the plan “where a miracle happens.”
According to the SMMT over 182,000 people work in manufacturing and some 780,000 in total across the wider automotive industry. It accounts for 10% of the UK’s total exports with more than 150 countries importing UK produced vehicles and generates £77 bn of trade. 8 out of 10 cars produced in the UK are exported.
Is the Government really going to shoot itself in the foot?
No, both feet Dave. On closer inspection the feet are ours.
So the domestic labour and capital used to produce 80% of cars is consumed by foreigners. That’s good why? I’d far rather that labour and capital produced stuff I consume.
So the trade body hates ordinary people i.e. the market as well as the government. The trade body needs to press politicians to stop attacking ICE and cut ALL the subsidies and bribes for EVs. Let the market decide. There is something obviously wrong with a product where the “solution” is to hammer actual competition with taxes, regulations and even bans.
>>boost EV uptake
Never seen this before. Why “Your comment is awaiting moderation”?
It’s usual for new commenters
Unfortunately, whatever I post here myself doesn’t come back to me in e-mail, but I have posted many times using the same e-mail address and “Realist” as name using a web browser. Unfortunately there doesn’t seem to be a proper e-mail distribution list so that we can simply subscribe and use our e-mail clients.
As an aside, despite “you can also reply to this e-mail to leave a comment”, it doesn’t work. The mail with the long “comment+verylongstring@comment.wordpress.com” doesn’t actually bounce, but it triggers a mail with “we couldn’t find your comment” as reply
>> It’s usual for new commenters
Mandates ! Who gave them the right to mandate anything ?
Its people who are the problem as they “comply” and believe everything the stupid Govt / Westminster & the media tell them to do. Just look at the last 3 years of “complying” as a perfect example. Maybe I & most of my family just think differently.
Yes, what happened to the “free market” system we in the West used to be so proud of? However did the Automotive Industry agree to be fined for not reaching EV sales targets!
A study in the US has found that owners of battery cars drive less miles than owners of proper cars. I wonder why…..
The report authors were concerned that with this lower mileage, less emissions were being saved as presumably more miles are driven in normal cars to make up for it.
But did they reduce the miles they drive or are EVs bought by people who drive fewer miles?
One of the concerns of the report writers was, having admitted that battery car production produces higher emissions than normal cars, if they drive fewer miles they will never get to the point where they produce fewer emissions. There is probably quite a debate over whether they ever do result in fewer emissions.
In California the vast majority of battery cars are bought by well off people who have multiple cars so have a proper car when they need to drive long distances. This leaves the battery car to do the short run to the shopping mall or when they need to show virtue-signalling. So overall mileage remains the same.
Second car !
The Soviets were far ahead of their time. They mandated the manufacture of many goods which nobody wanted to buy. If we go that way, there will be no toilet paper ..
When a Govt interferes and mandates its will, it always turns to scat.
The only thing there’re good at is creating new taxes, so they can spend the money wisely on our behave Huh !
“A Govt that tries to tax its self into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to pull himself by the handle – Winston C.”
How to win the next general election:
Undertake to amend/withdraw legislation which makes ICEs obsolete by a certain date and stop all subsidies and penalties by which EVs have any contrived advantage in a free market. Yes democracy needs to get back on its feet and deal with Ulez at the same time.
For most people EVs are quote a bit worse than their existing cars and quite a bit more expensive. It’s amazing anybody buys one. But if the manufacturers end up sitting on lots of unsold stock, they will probably slash prices.
If they slash prices to shift unsold stock they will lose money and shaft the resale values of those they have already sold. Most companies seem to have put battery car production on hold as demand dries up.
They lose less money selling for something than not selling at all.
They lose even less money by making fewer of them, or better still none at all.
Something strange with this website in the last day. Suddenly I seem to be logged in at WordPress which is playing havoc with my Realist display name. However logging out gets me back to the normal “provide your name and email to leave a reply” but then it won’t let me post claiming my e-mail address is already being used.
Above said, perhaps the manufacturers should not have started producing products (EVs) that the market does not need or want in the first place.
>>If they slash prices to shift unsold stock
It’s been quite a day. Just been watching Dr. John Campbell on Rumble talking about an NHS tweet saying the jab was much better than natural immunity and then going over two lots of research that shows that natural immunity is around 10x better than the jab and its effect lasts a lot longer (and none of the “excess deaths” associated with the jab). Then another video by him on the elderly who … not sure if he said “deliberately” put to death by not feeding or giving them drink, but I’m pretty sure that’s what he thought had happened. Then watch Russel Brand talking about a BMJ report on the revolving door of those on the committees supposed to be regulating medicines who within months of approving them end up in extremely well paid jobs in those producing the medicines. And, there was a raft of reports today like this on how the Ev fad is starting to crumble.
Then I read that Israel had dropped the equivalent of two nuclear weapons worth of bombs on Gaza and that it is claimed that has killed 10,000 Palestinians. But far from benefiting Israel, it’s actually uniting people against them.
And, as a result of Ukraine, Israel and Net Zero, Buydem’s poll rating has plummeted and Trumps is soaring … much to the utter horror of the media reporting the kangaroo court that was supposed to finish Trump for good.
Not sure that Latin for “Horrible week”, but, it has been a bad week for the lying press. There are now really good signs, that it will not be long before people start waking up to what has been happening.
GO, ISRAEL!
What do you care what other people think? Take back YOUR land (as per boundaries delineated in the book of Joshua)!
Those HUGE casualty numbers come from the Gazan Ministry of Health. You know, the ones who called a HAMAS mis-fired rocket an Israeli bomb?
What about lorries? What about lorries? What about the huge Danish lorry full of bacon that has just rolled past? Our CO2 or theirs? And Heathrow has just refueled 123 Amirican
Airliners
Study from the US finds that EV mileages are lower than their ICE counterparts:
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1007100
One explanation could be that they are mainly used for local runs, commuting etc while higher-mileage drivers stick with ICE. Or maybe it’s a quirk of the US market with its huge distances so may not relate to countries like the UK.
Whatever the reason, if it does apply to other countries, it would have implications for the lifetime CO2 comparisons.
Most EVs cannot even manage a “commute” for those still trapped in them without a recharge. And that is in Europe, let alone the USA where distances between the two commute points would be much greater
>>One explanation could be that they are mainly used for local runs, commuting etc
What ever happened to capitalism, the Tory belief that the consumer was king with competition & freedom of choice ….this country has lost its way