– Most drivers doubt 2030 petrol ban
– Used EVs outpace new 15 to 1
– Few new EVs underneath £20k
– Most drivers doubt 2030 petrol ban
– Used EVs outpace new 15 to 1
– Few new EVs underneath £20k
The journey to a zero-emissions new automotive market by 2030 is underneath menace with most drivers now not believing the Authorities will stick with its plan to ban new petrol and diesel automobile gross sales by the tip of the last decade, in accordance with Auto Dealer’s newest Highway to 2030 Report.
Regardless of a spike in March as patrons rushed to beat April tax modifications, demand for brand spanking new electrical autos (EVs) has flatlined at simply 18% of recent automotive enquiries in 2025, it reveals.
Whereas official June figures confirmed a robust month for brand spanking new EVs, they nonetheless account for lower than one in 5 new automotive gross sales up to now this yr.
Learn: New automotive market grows, however dangers lacking EV targets, warns SMMT
New projections based mostly on present developments counsel that EVs will account for simply 45% of recent automotive gross sales by 2030 – far in need of the 80% goal mandated underneath the UK Authorities’s Zero Emission Car (ZEV) programme.
“There’s real concern that 80% of shoppers doubt the Authorities can meet its 2030 objective of banning new petrol and diesel automobile gross sales,” mentioned Ian Plummer, business director of Auto Dealer.
“Whereas the supply of reasonably priced new and used EVs is rising, and the £1.4 billion not too long ago dedicated by the Authorities to assist the transition is promising, it might take time for these enhancements to achieve and reassure the broader public.”
Used EV growth threatens mandate
Auto Dealer’s evaluation highlights a widening hole between shopper curiosity in used versus new EVs. The platform has seen a 92% year-on-year rise in used EV enquiries, with second-hand fashions producing 15 occasions extra curiosity than new ones.
Whereas encouraging for the second-hand market, this pattern dangers undermining the ZEV mandate for brand spanking new automobiles, which requires 28% of all new automobile gross sales in 2025 to be zero-emission.
This shift is being fuelled by affordability. The common driver is unwilling or unable to spend greater than £20,000 on their subsequent automobile, but simply eight new EV fashions can be found beneath that threshold – in comparison with 17 inner combustion engine (ICE) equivalents. Against this, Auto Dealer lists almost 12,000 used EVs priced underneath £20,000, together with a sixth underneath £10,000.
“Affordability nonetheless stays a blocker,” mentioned Plummer. “With one in three new automobiles offered within the UK now having a plug, we all know there’s shopper urge for food for the brand new applied sciences now on supply. The problem has all the time been affordability and new electrical fashions coming to market underneath £20,000 ought to assist to shut the hole between electrical gross sales and transition targets.”
Tax modifications and low cost cuts
Current coverage shifts look like slowing momentum within the new EV market. In line with Auto Dealer, common producer reductions on new EVs dropped from 12% in March to 10% by Might, whereas April’s tax reforms – together with the Costly Automobile Complement and modifications to Car Excise Responsibility – have added over £600 to the price of a brand new EV.
Consequently, 42% of drivers surveyed mentioned they’re now much less doubtless to decide on an electrical automobile, with 52% citing price as the largest barrier.
“This knowledge highlights that whereas EV curiosity is rising, the chance to transform curious patrons into assured adopters of their subsequent automotive buy is now and we’ve got to behave,” Plummer mentioned. “We urgently have to rethink the Costly Automobile Complement and automobile excise obligation tax modifications and to give attention to public info campaigns to allow shoppers to be ok with making the change.”
New fashions present some promise
Regardless of the challenges, some low-cost new EVs are making an affect. The Dacia Spring, essentially the most considered new EV on Auto Dealer shortly after its launch, and the Jaecoo 7, which ranked second total in Might, present that reasonably priced electrical automobiles can win shopper curiosity.
In the meantime, hybrids proceed to surge, now accounting for 37% of recent automotive advert views – up from 33% the earlier month – as authorities coverage permits hybrid gross sales to proceed till 2035 underneath ZEV guidelines.
“There’s lots for the business and authorities to do now to set us up for achievement,” Plummer concluded. “However with out pressing intervention, we threat falling in need of our decarbonisation objectives – and shedding public confidence alongside the best way.”
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