Car makers call for more support to boost UK’s EV industry

The Labour government should bring in incentives to speed up electric car uptake, according to the body which represents the UK’s car industry.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has suggested the new administration should introduce tax cuts and maintain current benefits to help inject new momentum into the EV market in the face of slowing growth.

The latest figures from the body show that EV sales are continuing to grow but that the rate of increase has slowed. Half-year data shows that new BEV registrations are up 9.2% but that private consumer demand has fallen by almost 11%.

SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said that put the market behind targets set in the ZEV mandate and action from the government was needed to persuade buyers to choose an EV.

He said: “The first half of this year was 16-17% [market share], the mandate dictates that every brand should be at 22% this year. June was at 19%, but we will need to make up a hell of a lot in the second half of this year to recover the shortfall on the mandate.”

He said that demand had softened as the market moved from keen early adopters to mass market buyers and that the situation was “challenging”. He added that, unlike some European markets, there are no incentives for private buyers in the UK.

The SMMT wants to see three key policies introduced to address concerns over the affordability of electric cars.

These include halving VAT on new EVs for the next three years, and bringing VAT on public charging in line with that on domestic energy rates. It also was the current EV exemption from the expensive car supplement to be maintained. This five-year charge, which adds £410 per year to the vehicle excise duty on any new car over £40,000, is due to be applied to new EVs from next April.

Labour has said it is committed to the rapid decarbonisation of UK transport but has not given any indication of new policies or incentives designed specifically to accelerate EV uptake.

The SMMT also revealed that the country’s EV production fell by 7.6% in June as factories retool to build new models. Nissan, the biggest producer of EVs in the UK, recently ceased production of the Leaf in Sunderland to prepare that factory to build its replacement along with all-electric versions of the Qashqai and Juke.