UK reaches 28% EV sales

Plug-in cars represented 28.1% of the United Kingdom’s new car market in November, with 21,726 battery electric vehicle (BEV) registrations and 10,796 plug-in hybrids (PHEVs).

That illustrates BEV uptake has doubled in the UK, equal to 18.8% of the market with 21,726 units, although the new car market is well adrift of pre-pandemic levels.

So says the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) in releasing the latest figures showing 115,706 new cars registered in November, an increase of 1.7% on lockdown-hit November 2020 and 31.3% below the pre-pandemic five-year average as semiconductor shortages constrain supply.

It adds the PHEV share grew to 9.3% or 10,796 units.

Year-to-date, 1,538,585 new cars have been registered in the UK, of which 17.5% have been BEVs or PHEVs, meaning one in six new cars is capable of being plugged in, the SMMT says.

“When combined with hybrid electric vehicles (9.0% share), more than a quarter (26.5%) of the new car market during 2021 has been electrified.”

Meanwhile, the society wants proportionate targets for charging infrastructure rollout.

New SMMT analysis this month revealed the pace of on-street public charging infrastructure is lagging, with the number of plug-in cars potentially sharing a public on-street charger deteriorating from 11 to 16 between 2019 and 20202 and just one standard on-street public charger installed for every 52 new plug-in cars registered over the course of this year.

Britain’s ratio of plug-in vehicles on the road to standard public chargers (16:1) was one of the worst among the top 10 global EV markets at the end of 2020, the society says.

“With plug-in vehicle uptake having grown by 86.6% in 2021, SMMT is calling on the government to take action to avoid the ratio deteriorating further, by boosting the provision of public charging points through the imposition of binding targets.”

What looks like a positive performance belies the underlying weakness of the market, SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes says.

“Demand is there, with a slew of new, increasingly electrified models launched but the global shortage of semiconductors continues to bedevil production and therefore new car registrations,” he explains.

“The industry is working flat out to overcome these issues and fulfil orders, but disruption is likely to last into next year, compounding the need for customers to place orders early.

“The continued acceleration of electrified vehicle registrations is good for the industry, the consumer and the environment but, with the pace of public charging infrastructure struggling to keep up, we need swift action and binding public charger targets so that everyone can be part of the electric vehicle revolution, irrespective of where they live.”

At the 104th SMMT Annual Dinner in London during November, SMMT president and executive chairman Dr George Gillespie urged decisive action on infrastructure to support the EV market and automotive sector competitiveness.

“A third of British-made cars are now electrified, with more plug-in vehicles expected to be registered this year than in the last decade combined,” he says.

“We have invested billions in designing some of the most amazing electrified vehicles – over 115 zero emission capable vehicle models are for sale in the UK right now.

“We have inspired the public to buy these exciting vehicles in numbers never seen before, but here is the twist. It is so frustrating to find broken chargers, blocked chargers, multiple apps, confusing payment schemes. This is quickly going to turn a lot of people off electric vehicles and all our work in developing these fantastic vehicles will be wasted.”

Gillespie says manufacturers are firmly committed to decarbonise cars and vans by 2035 but significant challenges remain with long-term strategies needed to address these deficiencies.