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Quarter of car sales in December 2021 were electric

 960 640 Stuart O'Brien
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By WhichEV

Pure electric cars outsold hybrids for the first time on record in December, jumping to second place in the list of most popular fuel types in the UK, according to data from New AutoMotive.

The transport research organisation said that there were 25,676 pure electric vehicles sold in December 2021 up from 21,019 registered in December 2020.

This represents a 25.8% share of the December 2021 market.

The share of petrol cars fell below 50% of the market for the first time since 2016.

Breaking this down by region, Oxford was an EV hotspot in December taking a 40% share of new car sales. Newcastle came second with 31% and Kent was third with 30%.

To read the full story, hop over to WhichEV.net.

EV sales skyrocket: More EVs registered in 2021 than previous decade

 960 640 Stuart O'Brien
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By Ben Hubbard, WhichEV

According to the latest data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), more electric vehicles will be registered in 2021, than in the whole of the previous decade.

Between 2010 and 2019, a total of 271,962 BEVs and PHEVs were registered, while in 2021 alone the SMMT forecasts that closer to 300,000 of the latest plug-in vehicles will be sold.

The same forecast also predicts that BEV registrations will outsell diesel cars by the end of next year.

So far this year, plug-in vehicles account for 16.6% of all new car registrations and hybrid EVs account for 9.1% meaning that more than a quarter of all new cars sold are now electrified.

“Our latest outlook shows the UK experiencing a surge in plug-in vehicle uptake. Massive investment by industry as well as longstanding government incentives have seen us go from just 188 new plug-in cars in 2010, to almost 300,000 in 2021,” says SMMT’s chief executive Mike Hawes.

This increase in interest in electric vehicles comes against a backdrop where overall car registrations plummeted in October.

Overall, new car registrations last month fell by -24.6% to 106,265 units compared to October 2020, making this the worst October month since 1991.

Most of this decline was driven by large fleets as their demand fell by -40.4% whereas private decline was just -3.3%.

A detailed analysis is available over on WhichEV… https://www.whichev.net/2021/11/11/plug-in-vehicle-registrations-in-2021-on-track-to-exceed-whole-of-last-decade-despite-overall-market-decline/

At the same time, a damning new report shows that for every 52 plug-in cars registered in 2021, just a single public charger was installed.

While the UK government has pledged £620m of zero-emission grants in its Net Zero strategy, and the Government’s Rapid Charging Fund is investing £950m to expand the number of rapid and ultra-rapid charge points, this is insufficient to keep up with consumer demand.

Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: “Recent Government funding for infrastructure was welcome but more private sector investment in public charge points is needed across the country. The UK therefore needs a framework of regulation that makes it easier to fund, build and operate electric vehicle charging infrastructure. Consequently, we need commensurate and binding targets for charge point rollout and reliability so that all those without a driveway or designated parking can be confident of finding a convenient charger, and one that works.”

At the end of 2019, 11 BEVs and PHEVs shared a public charging point on average, but by the end of 2020, that ratio had dropped to one charger for every 16 plug-ins.

While many people making the switch to an EV will be able to charge their car at home, on a driveway or designated parking bay, there are still those that rely on on-street parking, and so charging infrastructure has to cater for all needs if we are to achieve net-zero.

Britain’s ratio of plug-in vehicles on the road to standard public charge points is now one of the worst among the top 10 global electric vehicle markets at 16:1 in 2020.

Some of the countries offering EV drivers better charging coverage, include South Korea (3:1), the Netherlands (5:1), China (9:1), France (10:1), Belgium and Japan (both 13:1).

There are also regional disparities in the number of charge points around the UK. London has the best ratio at 10:1 while the east of England has the worst at 49:1.

ULEZ expansion: Fines could top £864m in first six months

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By Ben Hubbard, WhichEV

With the expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) that came into effect on Monday, London’s non-compliant drivers are predicted to be fined up to £864m in the first six months, according to vehicle management app Caura.

With the ULEZ impacting one in 4.6 London cars, Caura’s research show that there are 565,000 pre-2005 petrol or pre-2016 diesel vehicles on the roads, which are not compliant with the new zone’s emissions standards.

Click here for the full story.

The WhichEV View: Help your employees save thousands with a salary sacrifice scheme

 960 640 Stuart O'Brien
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By James Morris, Editor, WhichEV

As part of its push toward a carbon neutral economy, the government is encouraging companies to set up a salary sacrifice scheme to help employees get huge savings on the latest electric vehicles. Essentially, the cost of the vehicle is taken from an employees salary, before it is considered for tax.

As a result, a sizeable chunk of income, becomes tax free. When a company leases an electric car, the whole cost can be deducted as a business expense. The company essentially functions as a go-between, passing the lease cost on to the employee. The employee effectively pays the business lease amount to their employer, so the company doesn’t pay anything to provide the car to their employee, other than the time it takes to administer the deal.

For a 40% tax payer, the ability to deduct a £400 lease payment from your gross salary will save you up to £160 a month. That would be a saving of £5,760 over 3 years. You also have a potential saving of almost £1,300 on National Insurance. Combined, in this example, the employee can be looking at a saving of more than £7,000.

The BiK is also close to zero, which represents another saving against a petrol or diesel vehicle. Worth bearing in mind that all of these savings happen before you get to the lower running costs and, in the case of Octopus EV, the included bundle of free electricity – very welcome in today’s climate!

Best of all, a good salary sacrifice scheme from a supplier like Octopus EV is quick and easy to set up, and takes around 15 minutes a month in admin time. You can get a detailed quote by clicking here.

Read the full story here.

How Octopus is trying to eliminate range anxiety with virtual charging

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By James Morris, Editor, WhichEV

Business is about certainty, data and accurate predictions. One of the most important aspects of running a modern business is cost control. Moving to your staff across to electric vehicles can raise a lot of variables – especially when it comes to key questions like where can I charge and how much will I be paying?

One year ago, Octopus put together a virtual charger network – inviting top brands like Ionity to join in order to offer broader choice and more standardised pricing. Members can easily find the best/nearest charger for themselves and billing happens directly onto your Octopus account at a suitably discounted rate.

Click here to read more…

Exciting executive EV choices coming soon

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By James Morris, Editor, WhichEV

Roll the clock back 10 years and the Nissan Leaf was one of the only electric cars available in the market, with a range around 100 miles and very few places you could get a charge. The EV landscape looks very different in 2021.

To help the specialist media get an idea of what is coming, the SMMT (Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders) recently held its annual press event at the Millbrook Proving Ground near Milton Keynes. WhichEV spent the day looking at some of the executive car options that fleet managers can now choose from.

Millbrook itself is secreted among the trees and you don’t really notice it until you hit the large exterior security gates. Access is strictly controlled, as the Proving Ground is used by manufacturers keen to get real-world test data on their up-coming products. There are three ‘tracks’, to help simulate all possible driving conditions.

The Race Track

This is an American-style oval, with heavy banking on the outside edge – so you can take fast cars to the max with minimum risk.

Town Track

Simulates the standard roads that we all drive around every day, including traffic lights and give-way signs. Let’s you examine visibility and manoeuvrability on tighter streets.

Hill Track

Starting with long, slow slopes, this track quickly builds to the most demanding combination of extreme elevation and tight turns under pressure you can imagine. Easy to believe that it might be based on the toughest country roads in Wales.

With limited time and over 100 cars on show, its important to prioritise. WhichEV’s focus was the latest Porsche Taycan, a new model from Audi and a look at the much-anticipated Hyundai Ioniq 5.

Porsche Taycan RWD

One of the only EVs to match Tesla for performance, Porsche has now launched a Taycan (pictured, above) with rear wheel drive that will hit 60mph in just over 5 seconds, with a top speed of 143mph and a WLTP range of 268 miles – all courtesy of a 79kWh battery. Most important? There are already leasing deals around the £585 mark for low-mileage business users. When combined with the 1% BiK right now, the performance and prestige of the badge will make the RWD version of the Taycan popular with executives.

Audi e-tron GT

With business leases starting a smidgeon under the £700 mark, Audi’s latest EV executive shares around 40% of its genetic profile with the Taycan – but with a softer ride and more luxurious interior. It sports a larger battery than the Porsche and can reach 60mph over a second quicker with a top speed of 152 for your favourite German autobahns. The WLTP is just over 300 miles and – at its peak – the GT will pick up 520 miles of range per hour of charge – topping out at 270kW DC.

Hyundai Ioni5 5

The latest iteration of Hyundai’s popular EV series comes with a 62kWh battery and 249 mile range – which doesn’t seem that special. However, the car is able to utilise a 175kW DC charger and pick up a peak of 450 miles per hour of charge. That’s enough to take you from ‘near empty’ to 80% in less than 20 minutes – which is very appealing for those who regularly drive long distances. Business leases for those using it more casually, will start around the £325 mark. Accelerating to 60 in around 8.5 seconds is good compared to fossil fuel cars, but fairly average for an EV. The top speed of 115mph is enough to lose your license on most European roads.

For all of the latest EV news and reviews, please check www.WhichEV.net.

The WhichEV View: JATO market data confirms massive increase in EV registrations in Europe

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By James Morris, Editor, WhichEV

For more than 30 years, Jato Dynamics has provided precision data on changes within the car market and their reports always make for interesting reading. Its latest update includes a summary of new vehicle registrations from across Europe for June 2021.

With the pandemic seemingly well behind us now, the patterns are becoming clear – with a strong emphasis on electric vehicles. WhichEV powers up the spreadsheet and checks the graphs.

Overall sales of 1.27 million vehicles is slightly down on the 1.47 new vehicles million registered in 2019, but it does mean that sales for the first half of the year finished up 27% compared to the start of 2020.

Pure battery electric vehicles totalled 126,000 units – around 25% ahead of the PHEV collective with 104,000 registrations.

It will come as little surprise that the companies with the strongest EV offerings did best in the sales charts – especially Tesla, the VW group and Ford. While the overall best seller in Europe is the evergreen VW Golf at 27,247 units, Tesla was right behind them with 25,697 sales of the Model 3…

To read the full article, hop over to WhichEV.

The WhichEV View: Why your company should buy you an EV today

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By James Morris, Editor, WhichEV

In April 2020, the Benefit-in-Kind (BIK) rate for EVs dropped to 0% for the tax year. It rose to 1% for 2021-22, then 2% for three years from 2022 to 2025. Given the previous rate 16%, these are significant changes.

In other words, if you received an electric vehicle as a company car this year, you paid no personal income tax on it until April 2021, and very little until at least 2025, whereas before April 2020 you’d have paid a lot more, making the reduction a significant incentive for employees to have an EV as a company car. In our previous article, we calculated that, if you received a Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus instead of a Mercedes C220d saloon as your company car from your employer, you’d save well over £10,000 over three years of use in terms of tax, fuel and other running costs.

But what are the incentives for the employer to buy you an EV? Other than providing an attractive perk for employees, why should your company go electric, when EVs still tend to be considerably more expensive than internal combustion engine cars? In a follow-up to our original article, we will show that buying an EV makes just as much sense for a company as it does for the employee that receives it, and even more so if you run your own Ltd company…

…Click here to read more.

The WhichEV View: Future electric cars – Best upcoming electric cars, SUVs and pickup trucks

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By WhichEV

All-electric vehicles are gaining a lot of traction. Growing interest from consumers is driving manufacturers to diversify their portfolios, while governments play a role in offering tax incentives and improving the country’s infrastructure.

Gone are the days where an electric vehicle (EV) is slow, unsuitable for long-distance commutes, and expensive: government grants offer significant savings off your new EV purchase; some all-electric cars are the fastest vehicles around; others push past the 400-mile mark on a single charge.

To understand what is an EV, including the benefits and disadvantages of owning one, read our dedicated guide, here.

As a greater number of all-electric cars start appearing on our roads, it’s important to look ahead into the future. Despite the horrors of the pandemic, 2020 was an amazing year for EV sales, and 2021 is set to be another exciting 12 months. There will be loads of exciting new models arriving this year and beyond. Here are our favourite upcoming all-electric vehicles.

Click here to read the full article.

Note: we’re constantly adding vehicles to this article but do let us know via our social media accounts if your favourite isn’t listed