Car manufacturers are on track to miss the government‘s target for electric vehicle (EV) sales this year, with approximately 19.8% of the new car market predicted to be battery-electric, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
The government’s Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate, introduced in January, requires at least 22% of new cars and 10% of new vans sold by major manufacturers in the UK to be zero-emission vehicles in 2024.
However, SMMT Head of Technology and Innovation David Wong informed the Commons Transport Select Committee that the industry will not meet these requirements this year.
Mr Wong stated that the market for battery electric cars is expected to reach 19.8%, while electric vans are projected to represent 8.3% of sales, falling short of the mandated targets.
David Wong attributed this shortfall to several factors, including falling demand from private buyers, premium vehicle prices, range anxiety and a lack of public charging infrastructure.
Additionally, the SMMT highlighted that only one in six EV registrations in April were by general members of the public, indicating ongoing challenges in consumer adoption.
The ZEV mandate aims to increase annually, reaching 28% in 2025, 80% by 2030 and 100% by the ban on sales of new petrol and diesel models in 2035.
Yesterday, the Transport Committee engaged in discussions with union leaders regarding the state of the EV market.
The session focused on assessing the health of the EV market, including the implications of the government’s decision in September 2023 to delay the ban on petrol and diesel cars from 2030 to 2035.
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