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The WhichEV View

THE WHICHEV VIEW: UK car market sees notable growth according to the SMMT

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By WhichEV

The UK’s new car market recorded a significant upturn, marking its 20th consecutive month of growth, with new car registrations climbing by 10.4%. This surge resulted in 317,786 new cars being registered, all sporting the new ’24’ numberplate, indicating the strongest March since 2019. However, this achievement still trails behind the pre-pandemic figures by 30.6%.

This period of growth predominantly stems from fleet investments, which saw a 29.6% increase. Despite this positive trend, the sector faces challenges with a downturn in private buyer registrations by 7.7%, affected by the prevailing economic difficulties, low consumer confidence, and heightened interest rates. Additionally, small business registrations experienced a decline of 8.0%.

Although petrol cars still sell and diesel continues to dwindle, there was a noteworthy surge in the registration of  vehicles with an electric motor – led by hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) registrations, which hit a record 19.6% increase, totalling 44,550 units or 14.0% of the market share.

Click here to read the full analysis over at WhichEV.

THE WHICHEV VIEW: Humax is about to make the EV charger market a lot more competitive

 960 640 Stuart O'Brien
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All markets go through a similar cycle: One (or more!) smart folks come up with an invention, innovation explodes and some ‘early leaders’ are established, then smaller companies combine or change industries. Meanwhile, major companies (with lots of similar/relevant experience), tend to come in a little later – but rapidly build a much larger presence. We’ve just seen the announcement that Humax are entering the charger market – and things will become a lot more ‘competitive’.

Humax is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of set-top boxes – both for ‘subscriber services’ and Freeview, etc. That gives them the large scale production, software expertise and routes to market.

In fact, they will be on hand to demonstrate their first AC units at the Everything Electric Show at the Excel from 28th to 30th March 2024.

The initial price (ex VAT) is expected to be around £520 and larger commercial models will follow.

The more competition in the market – the cheaper it will become for Fleet Managers etc to install ‘at base’ – either for travelling salesmen or customers (as a courtesy).

For more on this story and the latest in EV news, head on over to WhichEV.

THE WHICHEV VIEW: Is Dacia about to shake up the European EV market?

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By WhichEV

Back in 2019, WhichEV carried a story that quoted the (then) CEO of VW saying that electric vehicles would require something like 40% fewer parts than traditional petrol/diesel cars… and that this would provide huge cost savings in the future.

It was ‘in the future’ because of the massive cost of batteries – and only once batteries became cheaper/power trains become more efficient – that prices might fall.

It can be argued that ever since then BMW and Mercedes have both struggled to put a competitive option in the market.

Looking at the ‘UK Top 10 Best Selling Cars’ over recent years, the average price is under £26,000, while the most popular car was a Ford Fiesta and the top 10 were basically all petrol/diesel (with the possible exception of the Tesla Model Y).

At the same time, the average price of the advertised EV has been closer to £48,000

Mercedes/BMW et al have all been complaining about ‘slow demand’ – without taking into account (a) the recession, and (b) the fact that their cars are £10-20,000 more expensive (like for like) as other EVs – because of battery costs

Something needs to give in the market

Someone needs to step in/up and release a highly affordable new EV – with 4 doors, sensible range – and a low, low price

Cue Dacia.

Using previous generation tech/batteries, this car should do around 115 miles, but they are claiming up to 137 mile range.

Remember, that data suggests that the average city-dwelling Brit drives around 20 miles a day – so this is nearly 1 week’s range ‘around town’.

The smaller battery means that a ‘stripped down/entry level’ version will be close to £16,000 – which COULD translate to a lease price around £120 a month.

In Europe, they will be releasing a mini-van version, with rear seats taken out for more cargo space – which could be good for local traders/handymen etc.

Read more on this story over at WhichEV…

THE WHICHEV VIEW: One million battery EVs are now registered for the UK’s roads – Where next?

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By WhichEV

January 2024, the UK automotive sector marked a significant milestone with the registration of the country’s millionth battery electric vehicle (BEV), highlighting a growing trend towards greener transportation. This achievement coincided with an 8.2% increase in new car registrations, totalling 142,876 units, marking the strongest start to a year since 2020 and continuing an 18-month streak of growth.

However, this rise was predominantly seen in the fleet market, which surged by 29.9%, in contrast to a 15.8% decline in private retail sales.

BEVs accounted for 20,935 of the new registrations in January, up 21% from the previous year, bringing the total BEV registrations to 1,001,677 since records began. Despite this growth, the BEV market share of 14.7% for January was slightly lower than the overall performance in 2023. The industry also saw an increase in plug-in hybrid (PHEV) registrations by 31.1%, while hybrid vehicle (HEV) registrations experienced a minor decrease.

For a deeper dive on this story, head over to WhichEV.

THE WHICHEV VIEW: Ioniq 5 N NPX1 revealed by Hyundai

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By WhichEV

Hyundai Motor Company has been pioneering in the car market since its inception in 1967 – and it has just made a splash at the Tokyo Auto Salon 2024 with the unveiling of the ‘IONIQ 5 N NPX1.’

This concept model, laden with prototype N Performance Parts – aimed at enhancing the high-performance electric vehicle (EV) experience. The resulting vehicle looks serious and promises a boost in performance and handling. Hyundai is looking to develop and release ‘N’ variants of future EVs.

The venture into N Performance Parts was first launched in 2019, and marks Hyundai’s ongoing dedication to high-quality tuning parts for its customers. This particular journey began in the ICE-age with vehicles like the Elantra N, i30 N, and i20 N.

Read more about the new model over at WhichEV…

THE WHICHEV VIEW: Mahle seeks to establish global standard for wireless EV charging

 960 640 Stuart O'Brien
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By WhichEV

In a pivotal move for the electric vehicle (EV) charging landscape, SAE International, a revered non-profit organisation dedicated to advancing mobility technologies, has endorsed Mahle’s positioning system as the worldwide standard solution for wireless EV charging. The selection of Mahle’s technology marks a significant leap in achieving standardisation in inductive charging, effectively putting in place the last piece of the wireless charging puzzle – that has kept this option from moving forward for almost a decade.

The key technology, a brainchild of Mahle, addresses a critical hurdle in standardisation. If successful, this could allow for a fast, comprehensive launch for commercial wireless charging – revolutionising battery charging for electric and hybrid vehicles. This recognition by a body like SAE International, underscores Mahle’s prowess in electrification and sets a compelling momentum for the future of e-mobility, as highlighted by Arnd Franz, Chairman of the Mahle Management Board and CEO.

Read this fascinating story in full over at WhichEV…

THE WHICHEV VIEW: Demand for used EVs on the rise

 960 640 Stuart O'Brien
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By WhichEV

In a rapidly evolving automotive landscape, the world of used electric vehicles is experiencing a significant resurgence. The latest data from Auto Trader’s Retail Price Index reveals a compelling narrative, where the recovery in used EV values is driven by a combination of increasing consumer demand for greener vehicles and a softening in the recent surge of supply. With the average retail value of a used EV increasing by 0.6% on a month-on-month basis, the market is showing signs of stabilising and robustly defying a year-on-year decline.

The most striking revelation from the data is the continuous surge in used EV prices. So far in October, used EVs have seen their average retail value increase to £32,203, marking a 0.6% month-on-month growth. This surge comes after a stagnant September, which followed 12 consecutive months of decline. While prices remain down compared to the previous year, the rate of year-on-year decline is showing signs of softening at almost -20%, marking the shallowest rate since June.

Read WhichEV’s full analysis here…

THE WHICHEV VIEW: Petrol Vs Public Charging Vs Home Charging – Compared

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By WhichEV

As part of its EV Answers series of articles, the expert team at WhichEV take a look at a small commercial vehicles and the fuel cost differences from fossil fuel to public charging to ‘at base’ charging…

Petrol

First, let’s consider range. If you recently decided to fill a 50 litre tank with petrol at £1.55 per litre, then it will have cost you £77.50. That is around 11 gallons and the average petrol vehicle will do around 36 miles per gallon – so that tank will get you just shy of 400 miles. Older, less efficient vehicle that spend most of their time at 20 mph in traffic will get closer to 30 miles per gallon, or even less – so a range of 330 miles for £77.50. Doing the calculation, we have a cost per mile with petrol of 19p to 23p.

Public Charging

You will find some chargers close to 50p per kWh, but maybe the price will be higher. We’ll use 60p for this cost calculation and imagine that you’re using a charger capable of delivering a steady 100kW. Filling a 61.7kWh battery like this, will probably get you to 80% in around 30 minutes, but the last 20% could take another 20-30 minutes as charger technology slows the process as the battery gets full.

Either way, you can pick up 61.7kWh of charge for £37.02. Most drivers do their miles in town and on smaller A roads, where you’re more likely to get close to 270 miles on a charge. To match the range of the petrol vehicle, you’d need to add up to 25% more charge – which would be another £9.23 for a total of £46.28.

Charging at Base

There are various ‘overnight saver tariffs’ to choose from. We will use 9.5p/kWh for 7 hours, but there are other deals available at the time of going to press. Local production from wind/solar as well as battery storage on site can also make a difference to the calculation.

Starting from empty at mid-night, you would pick up 49kWh at £4.65 and then you’ll need to finish with the last 12.1kWh at around 30p each once your overnight rate expires. That’s a total to fill up in one sitting of £8.28. You will need to pick up an additional 15kWh on the second evening – if you want to balance the ranges. That can be done overnight for £1.43.

Cost per mile

Another way to look at the same data, is to calculate the fuel cost per mile for driving 330 miles:-

23p        Petrol

14p        Public Charging

2.9p       Home Charging (E-On)

Before committing to an EV, do some calculations yourself and shop around for a good tariff that makes sense for your lifestyle. Prices are volatile, so our comparison is for guidance only.

Head over to WhichEV to read the full story!

The WhichEV View: Stellantis opens 100% EV-only UK manufacturing plant

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There is a lot of talk in the media about the fact that the UK government has put in place provisions to ensure that every electric vehicle sold in the UK must use material sourced in the UK. That amount needs to be 40% of the total production of each vehicle.
This has led to the opening or commitment to open at least three large-scale EV battery plants. Stellantis has taken this one step further, by committing a £100 million investment in Elsmere Port.
This will be the first 100% EV production plant in the United Kingdom and will create a lot of jobs both inside the factory and the surrounding area and along the supply chains for the plant itself. The initial focus will be on van like products either for personal or commercial use…
To read more about this Stallantis initiative, head over to WhichEV.

The WhichEV View: Affordable EVs now arriving with 300+ mile range

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By WhichEV

This multi-award winning MG4 EV design has now been revised with a much stronger power train/battery combination, with the updated version now offering a 323 mile range. That means the car is is likely to be able to complete London>Manchester without stopping – opening up new possibilities for fleet users.

As WhichEV points out in its Care of the Year guide, theMG4 EV costs less than half as much as a Tesla Model Y, and as a result is the more significant new arrival in the last 12 months.

It probably won’t sell as many units as the Model Y even after a full year on the market, but it draws a line in the sand about EV pricing. While the MG4 EV uses some cheap materials and still needs a little more work in its infotainment (albeit much better than before), in every area it’s more than just acceptable.

In fact, it’s great to drive, immensely practical, and – most importantly – sets a new benchmark for EV value. If any car released in the last year sets the direction for electric cars, it’s the MG4 EV. This car comes close to making EVs better than ICE in every way – including sticker price.

Read WhichEV’s full review of the original MG4 EV.