THE SMMT industry body published its new car figures for July.
While there was a decline in the number of registrations by nearly 30%, there was “bumper growth” in plug-in vehicles, with battery electric vehicles (BEVs) accounting for 9.0% of registrations and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) at 8.0%.
Meryem Brassington, Electrification Propositions Lead at Lex Autolease, part of Lloyds Bank Motor Finance and Leasing, commenting on these figures said:
“Today’s figures demonstrate great progress towards net zero and puts the UK well on track to surpass the 108,000 electric vehicles registered in total in 2020 by autumn this year.
“The recent Transport Decarbonisation Plan and other commitments are a strong signal of intent from the Government to keep the UK as a world leader in electrification. But there’s no time for complacency to creep in. Policy makers and manufacturers must continue to work together to address charging infrastructure and the second-hand EV market to ensure that battery vehicle adoption is both accessible and affordable for everyone.”
While fully electric cars, which produce zero tailpipe emissions, are not only useful for reducing the impact of vehicles on the planet, as well as local air quality, they are very tax efficient cars for business drivers and SME fleets, thanks to low levels of benefit in kind taxation levels.
For example, an electric MINI costs a driver paying tax at 20% from just £57 a year. Driving an equivalent petrol MINI, the benefit in kind would start from over £1000 a year. For more on this, read our story: How Businesses And Company Car Drivers Benefit From Going Electric.
July Registrations By Fuel Type
Source: SMMT
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