EV Sales Flatline Again In April
By Paul Homewood
h/t Paul Kolk
Electric car sales to private consumers have plunged by a fifth amid growing concerns that the industry will miss its legal net zero targets.
A total of 22,717 electric cars were registered in April, an increase of 10.7pc compared to a year earlier, but this was overwhelmingly driven by businesses.
Sales to private consumers made up just 15.6pc of this, down from 22.1pc in 2023, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
The actual number of electric cars sold to private consumers fell from 4,535 to 3,544, a drop of 22pc.
On Tuesday, the SMMT warned that electric vehicles (EVs) were now facing a “diminishing market share” with manufacturers set to significantly miss new sales targets put in force by the Government.
In April, overall EV market share among businesses and consumers rose from 15.4pc to 16.9pc on an annual basis.
The SMMT is forecasting that of two million cars set to be registered in 2024, just 19.8pc will be electric – down from a previous estimate of 21pc.
That means at least some car makers are on course to miss the target set by the Government’s zero emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate, which requires at least 22pc of sales to be electric from this year. Companies that miss the target are at risk of being fined. The SMMT does not break down its forecasts by manufacturer.
The ZEV mandate ratchets up further annually until it reaches 80pc in 2030, before a ban on the sale of new petrol cars in 2035.
In response to the latest figures, the SMMT reiterated calls for the Government to reinstate financial incentives for consumers buying electric cars – following the scrapping of the plug-in grant in 2022 – and said more needed to be done to ensure charging infrastructure was adequate.
It has previously demanded a cut in VAT on EV purchases that it claims would turbocharge demand.
The warning comes after figures from Auto Trader revealed that new EVs sold on the platform were being listed at record discount levels as dealerships struggled to shift them.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2024/05/07/demand-electric-vehicles-plunges-by-fifth/
The SMMT really does live in its little dream world!
There is not a cat in hell’s chance that EV sales will hit even 19.8%, never mind their previous forecast of 21%:
https://www.smmt.co.uk/vehicle-data/car-registrations/
At the end of April, YTD sales of EVs were lagging at a pitiful 15.7%, barely up on last year. Their projection now assumes that EV sales will account for 22% of all sales for the rest of the year.
What does it take to persuade the SMMT that barely nobody wants to buy these useless vehicles, which are totally unfit for purpose?
As for their idea that the government should chuck more taxpayer money at EVs, enough said!
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NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT 
I wonder if incidents like this are having an effect? Alder Hey children’s hospital temporaraily banned EVs to have a new sprinkler system fitted.
‘Electric car driver turned away from hospital car park’: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c90zjne2v0jo
Which is, apparently – according to Quentin Wilson – “misinformation erroneously shaping public policy”.
This study, however, may indicate that it’s not misinformation at all, but a government response to the clear and present danger to the public posed by electric vehicles:
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/01436244241248566?journalCode=bsea
CK
Water doesn’t help to put out battery fires.
Water might, though, keep some neighbouring cars cool enough for long enough to escape destruction. Or. at least, long enough for occupants to run for it.
“reinstate financial incentives for consumers buying electric cars”
Yeah, yeah increase the subsidies from the taxpayers. I propose instead a subsidy for cyclists – a free set of tyre levers for everybody older than four. That should save the planet.
You can be certain that something is c**p if it needs a subsidy. Or as Ronald Reagan famously said: “Government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.”
The globalists cannot understand why the masses are not queuing up to buy into battery cars, it’s really frustrating them, indeed angering them – it’s like regressing from the round wheel, to the square wheel – the tech is over expensive, hazardous and no where near as engineeringly competent as the ICE vehicle
A true conservative government would know that you cannot force manufacturers to sell products customers will not buy, electric cars, and force consumers to buy products that they do want, whether it is an electric car or a heat pump. Announce the abandonment of net zero, ban low emission zones, low traffic neighbourhoods, forcing people to study maths when they don’t want to, let adults buy vapes, ban 20 mph roads and you will win an election. Trouble is the conductor of the orchestra, Rishie, can’t sight read the political music and his first violin, Hunt, is politically tone deaf.
That you should not.
The only way to win now is to rejuvenate the economy via big tax cuts and a wholesale reduction in the size of the state. But there is no chance whatsoever of that happening.
Oh dear, what a shame!
Sooner rather than later, the government will have to back away from the fines on vehicle manufacturers (VMs) for not meeting the escalating targets for electric vehicle (EV) sales. Either that or the VMs will leave the UK market rather than go bust. Or the Chinese will steamroller the market. Will retail punters buy stuff like the BYD Seal?
EVs are just so useless in so many ways starting with very high prices compared to internal combustion-engined cars (ICE cars). And depreciation is epic.
Next the range problem is unfixable given that battery chemistry doesn’t seem to be advancing, and probably can’t advance because the periodic table is set in concrete.
I know two people with EVs and they reckon that ultra-fast charging is the answer. That isn’t going to work either because to charge a 50KwH battery in five minutes would mean an input of 600Kw. Imagine a motorway stop with 10 chargers running at this rate. The supply would have to be able to handle at least 6,000Kw and on a motorway it could be 24/7. The power supply of a small town! The earlier discussions, below, also brings up the inadequacy of the local grid system, so fast-charging is a non-starter.
Then there is the weight of EVs, and the sheer size. Parking structures become a problem. In fact, parking becomes a problem. And then there is the fire problem.
Back to charging. In the earlier discussions on supply, I saw someone state that only 40% of drivers didn’t have driveway or garage parking. This is incorrect. ONLY 40% HAVE DRIVEWAY/GARAGE PARKING! That’s a massive problem.
I could go on, but you probably get the picture. As to whether any government can back away from the fines, it’s hard to say. If a government did, it will find itself in court, and with the Swiss oldies precedent at the ECHR, an awful lot of laws will have to be repealed to change direction.
The one safe bet you can always make is that when governments try to pick winners, it’ll be a loser. I wonder if Paddy Power will take my bet?
When a globalist controlled Govt forces you to do something, or buy something, it is not for your benefit
Yes, punters will & do buy BYD Seals.
If a product has to be subsidised to generate “sales”, then it is obvious that it is either unsuitable when compared to other products, or, it is too expensive to start with- with regards to the BEV, it has the unique distinction of fitting into both categories- too expensive and unsuitable, it’s only benefit can be derived from city based driving, not distance. The other major point that the SMMT and Government have ignored is service and maintenance- this can be costly with a ICE, but BEV’s have a critical expense that nobody wants to discuss- a ICE vehicle requiring a new power unit aka engine will find that the cost will be around £3-5k, a new battery pack a mere £18-40k, and let’s not forget that a old ICE engine can be recycled, but a lithium ion bomb, sorry battery will need to be sent to a specialist storage facility while the recycling is attempted- it may even need to be sent back to China.
The whole scheme has all the hallmarks of the dead hand of the Civil Service and incompetent Government Ministers who put dogma before thinking thru the pros and cons.
I don’t think Starmer will accept this current poor sales performance, especially as he has stated that 2030 is back on the table, no doubt the solution will be simple- push thru a bill to ban outright the sales of new ICE vehicles but not in 2030, but by 2026, thus under Labour sales of BEV will go to 100% which in Starmer’s eyes equals a success.
There is an immense quantity of spare parts for ICE vehicles in re-cycling centres (Scrap Yards), as I reported last week on another thread on this site, my 15 year old Ford focus had a computer problem, traced to dashboard cluster (speedo, tacho, and warning lights). The independent garage said part from main dealer was £1000 plus installation plus VAT approx £1500, So I bought one on e-bay for £65and they installed and mileage reset for £160.
I think even if Starmer bans ICE vehicles, most will just delay buying a newer car, until their existing car conks out. People just do not have the spare cash for a second hand BEV, together with the cost of putting in a home charger.
Umm if they go down that road the only people who will win are the Chinese as they flood the mkt with their subsidised tat.
Second gand ICE vehicles are starting to look like an investment.
The i newspaper had a piece about EV sales (6th May) which was very upbeat entitled ‘Electric cars hit road hard with sales up 17 per cent’. Their information was provided by New AutoMotive “an independent transport research organisation”. They quoted Ben Nelmes its CEO
“Its great to see another 20,000 motorists choose to go electric. This is good news for households, since switching to electric cars is one of the parts of net zero that will save people money”
They then quoted Colin Walker, head of transport at the Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit
“The Government’s ZEV mandate policy is having the desired effect…..enabling more people to switch to cheaper, cleaner driving.” and
“As more new EVs are sold, the faster our second hand market will grow”
Do these people live in the real world?
It’s a lie. 20,000 people did not choose. 3,500 did. The rest are business sales.
Electric car driver turned away from hospital car park – BBC News
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c90zjne2v0jo.amp
Fire crews bracing themselves for a rise in electric car fires – BBC News
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-66866327
I spoke to a Fire Officer a few weeks ago when they came to fit new smoke alarms in my house. They are deeply concerned about EV fires, and after cooling with vast quantities of water, transport the vehicle to a shipping container filled with water, and dump them in for a fortnight, due to the dangers of re-ignition ……………
In Australia it was admitted that fire crews may have to put their own safety first in an accident involving a battery car and stand back and let the occupants burn. In Germany a battery car crashed into a tree and ignited and it was so fierce nobody could get near it so the driver and front seat passenger burnt to death.
Hey, you at the back, stop laughing …..
https://www.lemonde.fr/en/economy/article/2024/05/04/belgium-s-ports-drowning-under-glut-of-chinese-electric-cars-some-are-parked-here-for-a-year-sometimes-a-year-and-a-half_6670373_19.html#
Our national broadcaster seems reluctant to inform Telly-tax payers about that particular news item.
No Tricks Zone has a similar story from Germany:
https://notrickszone.com/2024/05/07/the-german-e-vehicle-nightmare-2024-q1-sales-plummet-14-graveyard-for-unsold-cars/
My Ford pickup (F150) has a 23 gallon [88 l.] tank and can average about 20 mpg, or well over 400 miles per road trip. If near empty, I can refill and be back on the highway (bladder willing) in about 7 minutes. Yesterday’s trip was 171 miles – one way. I used the air conditioner on the way, and the heater on return. In another year or so, I will need to replace the battery. That can be done in about 20 minutes for $100 – and the shop will send the old one on its recycle journey. Yesterday, I drove those 171 miles to a small town, filled the tank, and when returned home still had 280 miles range left. Is there an EV that can match that?
Battery prices have gone up. Think $200.
and when did we vote for this catastrophe? Is it legal to impose rules about sales onto a company with shareholders? Are the shareholders aware? Has there been a fuss? If not why not?
Of course its legal. It’s no different from the taxes, regulation, bans, restrictions, windfall taxes, minimum wages, imposed on businesses.
The state is no longer constrained; they can do whatever they feel like doing.
If anyone missed it (probably as almost no paper is carrying the story) Cameron and Macron said they would carry out actions that Russia said would trigger a nuclear war.
The nearest event is the nukes going to Cuba … but try to find a word in teh British press.
I watched this on YouTube yesterday. It came as a recommendation, I must be watching too much MacMaster!
This morning I checked my school run mileage taking my grandson to school which I do 4 days a week. Total was 23, for me and this Nissan Leaf it means charging every night.
There’s an I teresting section at the end about using pre-loved batteries
Can someone set up a parliamentary petition on all of this, or has there been one already ?
I remember when governments wouldn’t dare act against the people like this.
Repeal the Climate Change Act 2008 and Net Zero targets – Petitions
This is perverse. Incentives for what the government has mandated.
Of course at the same time we will be overbuilding more windmills and solar as well as billions on reconfiguring the grid for none of this new energy demand to materialise.
More from the Telegraph:
Ford warns net zero targets will push up petrol car prices (telegraph.co.uk)
Ford threatens to cut petrol vehicle sales
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/cars/news/ford-boss-says-it-may-limit-petrol-models-in-the-uk-to-hit-ev-targets/ar-BB1m3mGB