From NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT

By Paul Homewood

h/t Paul Kolk

Electric car sales to private consumers have plunged by a fifth amid growing concerns that the industry will miss its legal net zero targets.

A total of 22,717 electric cars were registered in April, an increase of 10.7pc compared to a year earlier, but this was overwhelmingly driven by businesses.

Sales to private consumers made up just 15.6pc of this, down from 22.1pc in 2023, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

The actual number of electric cars sold to private consumers fell from 4,535 to 3,544, a drop of 22pc.

On Tuesday, the SMMT warned that electric vehicles (EVs) were now facing a “diminishing market share” with manufacturers set to significantly miss new sales targets put in force by the Government.

In April, overall EV market share among businesses and consumers rose from 15.4pc to 16.9pc on an annual basis.

The SMMT is forecasting that of two million cars set to be registered in 2024, just 19.8pc will be electric – down from a previous estimate of 21pc.

That means at least some car makers are on course to miss the target set by the Government’s zero emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate, which requires at least 22pc of sales to be electric from this year. Companies that miss the target are at risk of being fined. The SMMT does not break down its forecasts by manufacturer.

The ZEV mandate ratchets up further annually until it reaches 80pc in 2030, before a ban on the sale of new petrol cars in 2035.

In response to the latest figures, the SMMT reiterated calls for the Government to reinstate financial incentives for consumers buying electric cars – following the scrapping of the plug-in grant in 2022 – and said more needed to be done to ensure charging infrastructure was adequate.

It has previously demanded a cut in VAT on EV purchases that it claims would turbocharge demand.

The warning comes after figures from Auto Trader revealed that new EVs sold on the platform were being listed at record discount levels as dealerships struggled to shift them.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2024/05/07/demand-electric-vehicles-plunges-by-fifth

The SMMT really does live in its little dream world!

There is not a cat in hell’s chance that EV sales will hit even 19.8%, never mind their previous forecast of 21%:

At the end of April, YTD sales of EVs were lagging at a pitiful 15.7%, barely up on last year. Their projection now assumes that EV sales will account for 22% of all sales for the rest of the year.

What does it take to persuade the SMMT that barely nobody wants to buy these useless vehicles, which are totally unfit for purpose?

As for their idea that the government should chuck more taxpayer money at EVs, enough said!