Sales to continue their upward trend this year

ELECTRIC vehicle sales will continue their upward trend in 2023 as consumers embrace buying new EVs as a “virtual no-brainer.”

Meanwhile, little evidence supports national newspapers’ recent spate of “doom and gloom” stories about EVs. That’s according to market analysis by renewable energy specialist myenergi, featured in Cox Automotive’s quarterly automotive insight update AutoFocus.

According to Tom Callow, Head of External Affairs at myenergi, it is “clear to anyone who looks at the data that 2023 will be a great year for electric vehicles in the UK.” Running cost advantages, greater availability of used EVs in dealers’ forecourts, and the growing number of domestic solar installations are all among the principal factors making EVs attractive to buyers.

Philip Nothard, Insight and Strategy Director at Cox Automotive, said: “Between 2010 and 2022, approximately 1.1 million electric cars were registered in the UK, and it is forecasted that a further 1.1 million will be registered by the end of 2024, according to the SMMT.

“Despite being affected by supply constraints on wiring looms due to the global chip shortage and issues relating to the war in Ukraine, electric car registrations in 2022 increased by 21% from the previous year. Annual growth rates of around 30% are expected to continue for the next two years.”

Supply, not demand, is the only thing holding EVs back

The supply-and-demand landscape for EVs will likely be such that consumers will buy them as quickly as manufacturers can produce them. In AutoFocus, Callow states: “With 483,000 new electric cars expected to be registered in 2023 and perhaps as many as 200,000 used electric cars changing hands, we may see around 700,000 transactions of EVs this year.

“However, in a market of well over 7 million new and used car sales, that means that if any more than 10% of the car-buying market wants to go electric in 2023, the simple fact is that there will not be enough supply to go around.”

Amid this supply-constrained market, the used car parc is set to play a more critical role alongside new car sales, as Callow explained: “Going electric is a virtual no-brainer for new car buyers, especially company car drivers. Plenty of electric vehicles are available for the price of the UK’s average new car, and running costs for the vast majority of EV drivers will be lower thanks to a majority being able to rely on home charging.