Millionth pure battery electric car sold in UK after 20 years

[smegal]

https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 ... k-20-years

Apologies for the Graun article, but good news nevertheless.

The number of pure battery electric cars sold in the UK has passed 1m, a milestone that reflects the rapid shift away from polluting fossil fuels that is crucial to Britain’s target to produce net zero carbon emissions.

Between 2002 and the end of January buyers registered 1,001,677 of the vehicles in the UK, according to data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), the lobby group for the British industry.


While it has taken 20 years to sell 1m electric cars – or more than 120 years if taking into account the very first battery-powered vehicles – the lobby group said it was possible the industry could sell the second million within only two years, as carmakers around the world race to dominate the electric vehicle industry.

The number of electric cars on UK roads is still dwarfed by those using fossil fuels. There were 35.1m cars on UK roads in 2022, of which 650,000 were pure electric, according to the latest available data from the SMMT.

However, the UK is planning to ban sales of new petrol and diesel cars by 2035, and manufacturers must sell an increasing proportion of electric cars or else face the prospect of large fines under a new zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate this year. The EU, China and several US states also have similar rules, albeit with different deadlines.


There may be some hiccups in the expansion of battery car sales. Some big carmakers, including Toyota, the Land Rover owner JLR, and Nissan, have asked the UK government to delay the ZEV mandate, arguing the rules were set too late for them to adjust their plans. Nevertheless, every big manufacturer across Europe, the US and China is racing to develop and manufacture electric models.

The industry also has concerns about the pace of installation of electric car chargers, and the upfront price of electric cars, both of which could hold back buyers. The share of electric car sales in the UK raced to 17.8% in 2022, but declined to 16.5% in 2023 before the enforced sale of more battery cars under the ZEV mandate.

Carmakers sold 20,900 electric cars in January, up by 21% on the same month in 2023. However, the sales were heavily dependent on company fleets, which receive indirect subsidies. Sales to private buyers fell by a quarter.


Mike Hawes, the SMMT chief executive, called for subsidies for private electric car sales to arrest the decline. The government removed all direct subsidies for electric car sales in 2022.

“It’s taken just over 20 years to reach our million EV milestone – but with the right policies, we can double down on that success in just another two,” Hawes said.

“Market growth is currently dependent on businesses and fleets. Government must therefore use the upcoming budget to support private EV buyers, temporarily halving VAT to cut carbon, drive economic growth and help everyone make the switch.”

[Joeboy]

Norway is doing well. A few years now since I worked there but even then there was a marked volume of EV's on the roads. Great to be in amongst and long may the growth continue.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/cleantechn ... orway/amp/

Then I saw Dan's more recent update post! Ah well!

[dan_b]

Got to get up early to beat me to the post!

Norway is doing well. A few years now since I worked there but even then there was a marked volume of EV's on the roads. Great to be in amongst and long may the growth continue.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/cleantechn ... orway/amp/

Then I saw Dan's more recent update post! Ah well!

[AE-NMidlands]

and on a related topic, https://www.theguardian.com/environment ... -lords-evs

Make used electric cars cheaper and tackle battery fears, peers tell ministers:
Grants needed towards buying EVs as well as a battery health testing standard to reassure consumers

Ministers need to intervene to boost the secondhand electric vehicle market and allay “uncertainty and concerns” over the health of their batteries, a House of Lords committee has said.
Peers on the environment and climate change committee urged the government to step up efforts to encourage electric vehicle adoption amid consumer jitters over the cost of vehicles, the longevity of their batteries and the availability of charging points.

Ministers should step in to tackle the disparity in upfront costs between EVs and petrol and diesel cars, and examine targeted grants to incentivise the purchase of electric cars, they said in a report. During their seven-month long inquiry, witnesses repeatedly called for a cross-industry battery health testing standard to provide “clear information and reassurance to consumers”.

etc.

[John_S]

The statistic that surprises me is that of one million pure EVs since 2002, only 650,000 are still on the road in the UK.

Where have the other 350,000 gone?

[AE-NMidlands]

The statistic that surprises me is that of one million pure EVs since 2002, only 650,000 are still on the road in the UK.
Where have the other 350,000 gone?

Given that you are looking back all of 22 years - almost a whole human generation, and that for EVs those were very early days (with quite highly publicised battery problems) I'm not really surprised. That date must be almost at the beginning of mass-market EVs.

(I don't need one, or want one, but I recognise that EV's will be part of our decarbonisation journey. I just wish there was the political commitment to improving public transport to do away with the need for as many private car journeys as possible.)
A

[John_S]

I found the answer with a little bit of research.

The 650,000 figure is at the end of 2022.
The 1,000,000 figure is end January 2024.

In 2023, there were 315,000 new BEVs and a further 20,000 in January 2024. So that explains 335,000 of my missing 350,000 and I am happy to accept a difference of 15,000 for scrappage, total loss, export etc. Sloppy reporting by journalists.

Figures from https://www.zap-map.com/ev-stats/ev-market

[Phoooby]

"I found the answer with a little bit of research"

Im glad you did because I am sure that 1/3rd would not have been lost to battery failure !

I am coming up for 10 years EV driving in March 2025. I didn't feel like an early adopter at the time as the leaf had been out 4 years by the time I got one. Having looked on the "how many left" web site, it seem there were only about 15k ev's on the road in Q2 2015 when I got mine. This were Leaf, Zoe, i3, Tesla S, and Renault Fluence. That is all the main ones I can remember for the time. We have bought another 4 since, 2 new and 2 second hand, but have sold 2 of those. We are now an all EV house.

Charging has changed alot since 2015. Free rapid charges then with Ecotricity. I remember the arguments on forums when they wanted to charge 25p per unit for charging