The UK is competing with Germany to be the European EV champion

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The UK is vying with Germany to become Europe’s biggest electric car market by 2024, after carmakers spent an estimated £4.5bn on rebates to phase out internal combustion vehicles.

EVs made up 19.6 per cent of new cars sold in the UK last year, according to figures from the Association of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. This is higher than the 16.5 per cent seen in 2023 but still below the 22 per cent required by the UK. electric car quota scheme.

Total EVs sold in UK up 21 percent to a record 382,000 for the year, topping the 347,048 sold in Germany between January and November. EV sales in Germany fell 26 percent last year after subsidies were cut. The annual sales figure is due to be released later this month.

“We’re going to be challenging for the top,” said SMMT director Mike Hawes. “It will be touch and go between the two markets.”

The share of EV sales in the UK reached 31 per cent in December, which is usually a quiet month for car transport where last-minute deliveries of EVs can increase their market share.

Despite the strong sales growth, Hawes warned that demand for EVs remains weak, with only one in 10 independent buyers opting for an electric model. That has forced many automakers to offer incentives to convince consumers to buy EVs, as they scramble to meet the government’s “zero-emissions vehicle mandate.”

The current plan requires a certain percentage of automakers’ annual sales to be zero-emission vehicles, with the percentage rising annually from 22 percent in 2024 to 28 percent in this, reaching 80 per cent by 2030. Companies face fines of £15,000 for each lost vehicle.

“I would like to give a very good report that this has been a record year for empty car sales. “But when you set a goal and don’t achieve it, that’s seen as failure,” Hawes said.

While the SMMT estimated that carmakers would need to use £1.8bn to buy debt to avoid last year’s penalties, the Department for Transport said it was “hopeful” that the flexibility meant that when one of them will face a financial penalty for the year 2024.

The ZEV order – which was introduced by the previous Conservative government when sales were expected to rise sharply – has come under heavy criticism from the industry, which has warned that the rush will cost jobs.

Labor ministers are now considering easing regulations to make it easier for carmakers to meet the targets, and last month. began negotiations on purpose.

Negotiations will focus on which hybrid cars can be sold alongside zero emission models between 2030 and 2035, as well as expanding a scheme in which carmakers can buy credits from rivals to meet targets.

Even automakers that are on track to meet the goals warn that more incentives are needed to help the industry meet its growing goals later in the decade.

While anyone who buys an EV on a company car plan can get generous tax treatment, the usual incentives for consumers to buy have weakened over the past few years, something automakers say making it difficult to sell brands that are often still more expensive than equivalent gasoline.

Kia, which is on track to meet its 2024 and 2025 targets, has warned it may still need more help later.

“The change from 33 per cent in 2026 to 80 per cent in 2030 is a huge leap,” said UK chief Paul Philpott.

The brand, affiliated with South Korea’s Hyundai Motor, reported record sales driven by demand for its hybrids as well as full-electric models.

“Incentives now can act as a positive incentive to build up the sector quickly and make the achievement of the goal in the coming years easier.”

The DfT said it had “invested more than £2.3bn to support industry and consumers to make the switch, rolled out more than 72,000 public chargers, and launched a consultation to invite the sector to develop a way to achieve the switch -ZEV”.