The good news is that the EV market continues to grow – albeit not as quickly as originally hoped. According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), battery electric vehicle (BEV) registrations saw a modest increase of 6.2 percent in May, achieving a market share of 17.6 percent. However, this still falls short of the target put forward by the Government's Vehicle Emissions Trading Scheme, which requires that 22 percent of new vehicles sold this year be zero-emission.
Moreover, the increase is primarily being driven by businesses, rather than individual consumers: while fleet registrations rose by 10.7 percent, private retail volumes actually fell by 2.0 percent. Even industry giant Tesla recently reported an 8.5 percent decrease in deliveries – the company’s first decline since 2020. So, why have consumers slammed on the brakes?
Read the full article in DPA's July 2024 issue