Sales of EVs in UK Plummeted 90% in 2009 Compared to Peak in 2007
21 October 2010
The UK’s Guardian reports that sales of new electric cars in the UK plummeted by nearly 90% in 2009 to 55 units, compared with their peak sales of 397 units in 2007.
The huge fall is a blow to UK efforts to meet tough carbon emission cut targets in a decade, and comes just months before the government introduces a subsidy of up to £5,000 off new electric cars. Nearly half of the electric vehicles sold last year were the tiny G-Wiz car. The latest model has a top speed of 50mph and a range of 48 miles between charges.
...Although sales of all new cars fell sharply in 2009 due to the recession, the drop in new registrations for electric cars was around eight times higher. Overall, 2m new cars were registered in 2009, the lowest level since 1995.
...In January, the coalition will begin offering up to £5,000 towards the price of a series of newly launched electric cars, as part of a subsidy announced by the former Labour government. The Department for Transport (DfT) anticipates around 8,600 of the cars will be sold in the first year of the scheme. The government has so far committed £43m for the scheme to run until March 2012, with a review taking place in January 2012, but in yesterday’s spending review it talked of “supporting consumer incentives for electric and other low-emission cars throughout the life of this parliament,” suggesting the subsidy would continue after March 2012 though possibly at a lower rate.
a: Sales decreased 86%, not 90% - there is a difference
b: A peak of 397 is not great
c: I think most people bought them to avoid the congestion charge in London.
There aren't really any nice low cost EVs to buy - the G-Wizes are awful, and Teslas are too expensive.
+ There is a huge recession in the UK.
+ Jeremy Clarkson slagged the G-Wiz off quite a bit too.
http://green.autoblog.com/2007/11/05/video-jeremy-clarkson-reviews-g-wiz/
Maybe when Leaves and Volts (Amperas?) and the Renaults are available, people will buy them.
Petrol is already very expensive in the UK: £1.18 / Litre so there is no lack of incentive to economize.
UK People are not stupid or bad, they just refuse to buy awful cars.
Posted by: mahonj | 21 October 2010 at 11:26 AM
The G-Wiz is not considered a 'real' car by most consumers. As such it fills a niche and doesn't really compete with with normal ICE cars.
When the 'real' EV's (Peugeot iOn, Mitsubishi i-Miev, Nissan Leaf, possibly the Model S) arrive in showrooms we can really see the consumer's appetite for EV's.
I believe the London congestion charge is not applicable to EV's. That will help a lot.
Posted by: Arne | 21 October 2010 at 12:46 PM
How much more evidence do we need that the whole "climate" scare has proven ineffective in changing behavior?? Fortunately climate is no longer considered a viable campaign and we are moving on to reel motivation. That is, consumer desire to quit importing petrol to feed their oil addiction.
In the US there are very real, good reasons to buy domestically made EVs. They support local economies. Keep DOLLARS at home, create JOBS and strengthen national security. BTW, they also help environment and move America closer to reel Energy Independence. A FAR BETTER motivator than "climate."
There are no EVs for sale in the UK. Guardian is just digging for another scare story. Yellow journalism.
Posted by: Reel$$ | 21 October 2010 at 04:42 PM