The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has warned that rising energy costs and lacking charging infrastructure will “soften demand” for electric vehicles (EVs).
Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) remained the second most popular fuel type in April 2023, with deliveries increasing by more than 50% to 20,522 and making up 15.4% of the market.
Including plug-in hybrid vehicles (33.3% increase) and hybrid electric vehicles (7.7% increase), electric vehicles (EVs) accounted for more than one in three registrations in April this year.
Despite this short-term increase in EV registrations, SMMT had downgraded its forecast for the expected market share of EVs in 2023 from 19.7% to 18.4%.
The revised outlook for 2024 envisages similar decreases with EVs now expected to account for 22.6% of new car registrations, downward from SMMT’s forecast of 23.3% in January.
According to SMMT this deceleration in its EV uptake forecast is caused by “high energy costs and insufficient charging infrastructure.”
Jamil Ahmed, director of solution engineering UK&I for the software company, Solace, told Current± that the shortage in chargepoints in the UK is translating into a “lack of trust for those contemplating buying an EV”.
The Department for Transport has a 300,000 public chargepoint target for 2030, yet in 2022 the UK installed fewer than 9,000 , bring the nation’s total to 37,000. At the current rate, Ahmed continued, the UK won’t reach the Government’s goal for another 25 years.
“The new car market is increasingly bullish, as easing supply chain pressures provide a much-needed boost. However, the broader economic conditions and chargepoint anxiety are beginning to cast a cloud over the market’s eagerness to adopt zero emission mobility at the scale and pace needed,” said Mike Hawes, chief executive at SMMT.
“To ensure all drivers can benefit from electric vehicles, we need everyone – government, local authorities, energy companies and charging providers – to accelerate their investment in the transition and bolster consumer confidence in making the switch.”
