SMMT new car sales data: comment

“After a steady start to the year, EV sales in the UK have grown strongly in March [1] - with record numbers of drivers making the switch to cleaner and cheaper electric driving.

“These figures come against the backdrop of the Iran war and rapidly rising petrol and diesel prices, fuelling a surge of interest in electric vehicles. [2] While it is too soon for this to have translated into new car sales, it indicates that more people are looking to protect themselves from shocks in global energy markets over which we have no control. Increasingly powered by electricity generated by British wind and solar farms, EVs offer the UK a way to enhance its energy security by reducing its dependence on oil imported from abroad.

“Sales of plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), incentivised by recent changes in Government policy, continue to grow strongly - despite consuming 490% more fuel than their manufacturers claim. Costing hundreds of pounds a year more to run than a fully electric vehicle, [3] PHEVs are becoming even more expensive to fuel as the price of petrol and diesel rises. They simply do not offer the same savings as an EV to families looking to protect themselves from shocks in global energy markets, and will undermine efforts by the UK to reduce its dependence on foreign oil”.