EVs took 27.4 per cent share of the UK auto market in July 2024, but industry insiders forecast slower sales for the rest of the year.
Delving further into the auto market analysis, combined EVs accounted for 27.4 per cent of UK passenger auto registrations in July 2024. Battery EVs (BEVs) were the key driver of this, taking up 18.5 per cent of EV registrations. However, petrol vehicles maintained the dominant share at 52.1 per cent, while diesel has slipped down the scale taking just 5.9 per cent, a record low market share for diesel. Plug-in hybrid EVs (PHEVs) accounted for 8.9 per cent of the market share, and hybrid EVs (HEVs) 14.5 per cent.
The biggest growth in sales was seen among BEVs, with sales volume increasing 18.8 per cent year-on-year, hitting 27,355 units. PHEVs grew by a lesser 12.4 per cent to 12,419 units, and HEVs a greater 31.4 per cent to 21,466 units.
In spite of a positive July for EVs, under the UK government’s Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate, 22 per cent of carmaker sales must be pure battery EVs in 2024, increasing to 80 per cent by 2030. These targets are supposed to prepare the UK for a shift away from fossil fuel vehicles, with a total ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars coming into force in 2030, a target that has been brought forward again after former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak delayed it until 2035.
Reflecting on this target, industry leaders are anticipating a slowdown of EV sales over the course of the year. In April, the forecast for battery cars anticipated a market share of 19.8 per cent throughout 2024, a figure which has now dropped to 18.5 per cent. One of the key catalysts for this slump is the cost of a new EV compared to that of its petrol/diesel alternatives.
Overall, 1.15m EVs have been sold so far in 2024, an increase of 60,000 on last year. This equates to almost 1 in 5 new car sales being an EV.
Questions have also been raised as to whether the UK has the base of skills needed to deliver a zero emission vehicle transition. Analysis from the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) suggests that the UK is facing a ‘postcode lottery’ when it comes to EV skills, and there is anticipated to be a 3,000 EV technician shortfall by 2031.
According to the IMI’s latest figures, there are 58,800 technicians in the UK qualified to work on EVs, equating to 24 per cent of the UK’s automotive workforce. However, more qualified workers are needed as demand for EVs and chargepoint technology increases, and the IMI has forecast a gap of 16,000 skilled workers by 2035.
The proportion of technicians trained with EV skills also varies significantly by region. The East of England leads the way, with 9.5 per cent of technicians having the necessary skills, Scotland boasts 7.9 per cent, London 6.1 per cent, the North West 5.6 per cent and, at the bottom of the table, Northern Ireland has just 3.;7 per cent.
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