THE executive Tesla Model 3 topped the sales charts in November, according to the registration figures from industry body SMMT.
It also coincided with battery electric vehicles reaching the highest ever market share: 32,721 zero emission models took to the road in September, representing a market share of 15.2%.
While electric cars flourished, thanks to demand from SME fleet drivers for their low benefit in kind company car tax position and for salary sacrifice takers, the rest of the market tanked. The lack of semiconductors being blamed for the unavailability of new petrol and diesel stock.
Still, the demand for electric cars shows that – despite some of the drawbacks often associated with EVs (electric vehicles) – both business and private drivers are increasingly willing to embrace zero emission driving.
Lucy Simpson, head of EV enablement at Centrica Business Solutions (parent company of British Gas), commenting on the September figures, said:
Despite the ongoing supply chain issues, it’s encouraging to see the continued growth of zero-emission vehicle registrations, proving that they are fast becoming the vehicle of choice for individuals and businesses. Government and manufacturers must continue to work together to ensure that the supply of EVs continues to meet demand as the UK accelerates its electrification ahead of the 2030 ban on ICE vehicles.
But there are challenges ahead, not least in guaranteeing drivers certainty over access to charging infrastructure. The solution needs to include a faster roll-out of EV charging points in public places, at businesses, and at leisure facilities to avoid large swathes of the population being cut off from an electric future.
Mike Hawes, the SMMT Chief Executive, echoed this view:
To meet our collective decarbonisation ambitions, we need to ensure all drivers can make the switch – not just those with private driveways – requiring a massive investment in public recharging infrastructure. Chargepoint roll-out must keep pace with the acceleration in plug-in vehicle registrations.
According to EV chargepoint website, Zap-Map, the number of public chargepoint locations is over 16,000 while there are 26,000 chargers offering nearly 45,000 connectors (correct as at 05 October 2021).
The website added:
There have been 627 new devices added to the Zap-Map database over the last 30 days which equates to 1061 new connectors.
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