Tuesday 5 July 2022

More than 500k EVs now sold in UK

More than 500k EVs now sold in UK

The number of electric vehicles (EVs) sold in the UK has now surpassed 500,000.

That’s according to research by analyst Matthias Schmidt, who claims that the UK is now set to overtake France in the race to electrify the roads.

In 2019, less than 100,000 EVs were present on British streets – however, this changed dramatically following the announcement to ban new petrol and diesel cars by 2030.

Carmakers rapidly increased their investment in electric cars, with Schmidt estimating that this number would be even higher if supply chain issues with semiconductor chips had not been an issue.

On top of the chip issue, the production rate of wire harnesses, another key component, has plummeted due to the war in Ukraine – where most of them are manufactured.

He said: “Given the supply shortage headwinds, the Ukrainian wire harness production shutdowns, as well as COVID shutdowns in China – slowing goods leaving the Chinese market – production at European car plants was subsequently bruised and battered.

“The UK, which is the market that soaks up the most EU manufactured cars worldwide, has also consequently suffered from this lack of supply.”

As of today, 1.2% of the UK’s 40.5 million cars are electric, according to the research – with a fifth of all these being Teslas.

If car companies don’t adhere to carbon emission standards imposed by the UK government and meet the 2030 milestone, they are heavily fined – another key reason Schmidt provides for why the UK is currently steering clear of the competition.

Written by

Bruna Pinhoni

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