The used EV market is showing signs of decline, in line with recent data from Marketcheck, with sales slipping while petrol vehicle sales achieved a yearly peak.
While petrol automotive sales jumped from 175,897 in May to 190,320 in October, used EV sales saw a marked 11% drop in only two months, with concerns mounting around charging infrastructure, cost, and the impact of tightening household budgets.
Alastair Campbell, Marketcheck UK, commented: “That is the primary statistically significant drop within the sales of used EVs now we have recorded. Alongside the more positive petrol figures, it might suggest a shift in consumer confidence back towards ICE vehicles.
“All indications pointed towards a continued rise within the used EV market, so to see a 11% drop in sales over two months is a surprise. Uncertainty following the Election, and ahead of the-then upcoming Budget, likely contributed.”
The autumn in used EV sales occurs as the federal government faces increasing pressure from automotive makers like Nissan to reconsider its strict EV mandate on latest automotive sales.
The mandate, requiring an escalating percentage of sales to be electric until 100% are required by 2035, with automotive makers failing to satisfy the 2024 goal of twenty-two% EV sales facing steep fines of £15,000 per vehicle.
The federal government could also be open to supporting the industry’s transition efforts, even when the EV adoption targets stay in place.
Haigh told media on the weekend that she was in “listening mode” concerning the challenges facing manufacturers ahead of her attending a bilateral meeting with Nissan on Monday and a wider roundtable with the automotive industry scheduled for Wednesday.
“There are flexibilities in the present mandate, but we would like to work with the manufacturing sector about whether these are working and whether we will address them,” she told LBC radio. “But the extent of our ambition and the mandate won’t be weakened.”
Options reportedly into account include counting British-made EVs sold abroad toward domestic targets, or crediting manufacturers for reducing factory emissions.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves recently reaffirmed that the 2030 ban on latest diesel and petrol automotive sales will go ahead, with a narrow allowance for hybrids until 2035.
This Article First Appeared At www.am-online.com
