Electric Car Registrations Have Doubled During 2020
According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), the number of electric car registrations doubled between January and November 2020…
Electric Car Registrations Double
The number of electric car registrations in the UK doubled between January and November, reaching a total of 86,291. That’s according to new figures released by the SMMT. For perspective, that’s 37,850 more than in 2019. Analysts have attributed the rise to a combination of factors. These include new buying trends during the pandemic, increasing awareness of the climate crisis and tougher emission targets amongst businesses.
Rod Dennis, a spokesman for the RAC, believes the coming year could be ‘critical’ for understanding the transition to electric motoring. He said, “as we move beyond the pandemic, 2021 is set to be a critically important year when it comes to understanding the appetite drivers have for ‘going electric”. He continued, “with more electric cars coming on to the market, it will be interesting to see if this rise in sales will be sustained. Or whether the negative economic outlook has the unfortunate effect of quelling demand”. According to the RAC, 185,137 pure-electric cars have been registered since 2010; along with a further 223,384 for plug-in hybrid cars.
The Decline of Diesel
Despite EV registrations soaring, those of conventional diesel and petrol models have taken a significant hit over the course of 2020. Diesel registrations have nosedived by 58% between January and November to 246,389. Some 583,488 were registered over the same period during 2019. November also saw plug-in hybrid registrations over take those of diesels for the first time. There were 18,062 plug-in vehicles registered in comparison to 15,925 diesel models.
Whilst these figures may seem somewhat surprising, they have been anticipated by some senior figures in the automotive industry. Back in June, Executive Vice President for Citroën, Vicent Cobee, suggested the COVID-19 pandemic would actually accelerate EV sales. He said, “We are expecting that the unexpected could happen. I wouldn’t be surprised if the market share of EVs moves towards 20% very, very rapidly”. He attributed this to increasing governmental subsidies for electric vehicles. Indeed, since his comments the UK government has announced a ban on the sale of new diesel and petrol car sales from 2030; with hybrids following in 2035.
Car Insurance: The Cheapest And Most Expensive By Profession – https://autoserveclub.co.uk/blog/car-insurance-the-cheapest-and-most-expensive-by-profession/
UK Climate Targets: 50% Of Cars Must Be Electric By 2030 – https://autoserve.co.uk/motoring-news/uk-climate-targets-50-of-cars-must-be-electric-by-2030/
