Rate of uptake of electric vehicles is actually falling

  13 January 2023

December saw battery electric vehicles claim their largest ever monthly market share, of 32.9%, while for 2022 as a whole they comprised 16.6% of registrations, surpassing diesel for the first time to become the second most popular powertrain after petrol. However, there are concerns that the rate of adoption of EVs is slowing.

Mark Newberry, Europcar Mobility commercial director and sustainability spokesperson, commented: “The turmoil of the last 12 months, with rocketing fuel prices, combined with a growing awareness of the advantages of electric motoring, have to be key contributors to EV overtaking diesel according to the latest SMMT data. However, we must all be careful not to assume the trajectory will continue to accelerate.

“Recent Europcar research found that over 40% of motorists we surveyed do not agree with the end to the exemption of vehicle excise duty in 2025. Combined with the cost of living pressures this could well dampen take-up in the near future.”

John Wilmot, CEO, car leasing comparison website LeaseLoco, paints an even more worrying picture, arguing that while EVs grabbing second spot in market share makes good headlines, the reality is that growth in electric vehicle ownership in the UK is actually falling according to the latest Department of Transport electric vehicle registrations data.

“Between Q2 2022 and Q3 2022, battery electric vehicle registrations increased just 9.8%, compared to 11.6% between Q1 2022 and Q2 2022, and 15.5% between Q4 2021 and Q1 2022,” he said.

Lisa Watson, director of sales at Close Brothers Motor Finance, said: “Interestingly, the most financed variants of some of the top cars, such as the VW Golf, Ford Focus and Range Rover Evoque, are all diesel-powered vehicles. With the cost-of-living crisis and pressure on household electricity bills, coupled with the initial upfront cost of electric cars, it is perhaps not surprising that consumers are still opting for diesel cars.

“With the recent announcement that the government will introduce Vehicle Excise Duty on electric cars from 2025, there is little to drive the adoption of alternative fuelled vehicles in the New Year.”

The SMMT’s view is that ensuring drivers in every part of the country can benefit from EVs depends on broader policies to encourage uptake of these zero emission-capable vehicles during 2023. For instance, it says, while the industry recognises the need for fair vehicle taxation, plans to introduce VED on BEVs from 2025 with the same ‘premium’ threshold as internal combustion-engine cars will disproportionately penalise those moving to electric.

Higher production costs mean more than half of all BEV registrations this year would have incurred the ‘premium’ VED if it had been in place, a move which risks discouraging wider adoption.

The SMMT also asserts that chargepoint provision remains a barrier to EV uptake. The government’s EV Infrastructure Strategy forecast that the UK would require between 300,000 and 720,000 chargepoints by 2030. But the SMMT says that meeting just the lower number would still require more than 100 new chargers to be installed every single day. The current rate, it says, is around 23 per day.

Manufacturers face a Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate from 2024 (the details of which have still not been published). As a result, the SMMT says accelerated investment in charging infrastructure is needed if consumers are to be confident they can make the switch and brands are to have a chance of securing sufficient supply to support UK market growth and not lose out to other markets which are investing more rapidly.

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