At least 200,000 new battery electric vehicles (BEVs) will be registered in the UK in 2021, according to
DriveElectric, one of the UK’s leading electric vehicle leasing companies.
This figure is based on DriveElectric’s own forecasts, and it represents a significant increase from 108,205 - the number of battery electric vehicles registered in the UK in 2020 (based on SMMT data released last week) – a figure which, despite the Covid-19 pandemic, even exceeded DriveElectric’s January 2020 forecast of 98,500 BEV registrations. The figure does not include plug-in hybrids (PHEVs).
DriveElectric uses its own model built from its intelligence of the UK market to forecast registrations of battery electric cars and vans. Reasons for this substantial increase in EV numbers include:
The UK Government’s recent announcement that sales of new petrol and diesel cars and vans will end by 2030 (and sales of plug-in hybrids will end by 2035) has already focused people’s minds on EVs.
Financial incentives for battery electric vehicles will remain, including a rate of just 1% Benefit in Kind (BIK) company car tax from April 2021 for a period of 12 months.
There is growing environmental awareness, about climate change and also about challenges with local air quality; EVs help to provide a solution in both areas. Increasing numbers of proposed initiatives such as Clean Air Zones are resulting in organisations looking to renew their fleets with electric rather than petrol or diesel vehicles.
However, DriveElectric says there is one overriding factor which is responsible for the rapid increase in EV adoption — the vast majority of people vastly prefer the driving experience of EVs to petrol and diesel vehicles.
Looking further ahead, the company sees particularly high numbers of EV sales from 2025 onwards (around 50% of registrations). Registrations of petrol and diesel vehicles are expected to decline naturally ahead of the 2030 ban, as people will stop buying them due to poor residual values, which means higher lease costs, and as EV prices become competitive with prices of ICE vehicles.
Mike Potter, DriveElectric managing director, said: “It is interesting to see that BEV registrations in 2020 exceeded our forecast despite the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2021 there will be even more EV models on sale, so motorists looking to save money on running costs and to banish tailpipe emissions will have even more choice.”
DriveElectric is an EV leasing company that has been helping organisations and individuals to adopt the technology to save money, lower emissions and transition to low-carbon energy since 2008. It aims to make the switch to electric cars and vans simpler for business fleets.