According to figures from DriveElectric at least 200,000 new battery electric vehicles (BEVs) will be registered in the UK in 2021. This figure is based on DriveElectric’s forecasts for the coming year and represents a significant increase from 2020 when 108,205 battery electric vehicles were registered in the UK. This figure even exceeded DriveElectric’s January 2020 forecast of 98,500 battery electric vehicle registrations.
DriveElectric, who are one of the UK’s leading electric vehicle leasing companies, uses its own model built from its intelligence of the UK market to forecast registrations of battery-electric cars and vans. They believe the huge rise will be down to several reasons including the Government’s recent announcement on the banning of sales of new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030, which will help to focus people’s minds on electric cars.
DriveElectric also states there is growing environmental awareness about climate change and also about challenges with local air quality. Here electric cars can help to provide solutions in both areas. Plus, 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.
Financial incentives for battery electric vehicles which remain will also help. Incentives including a rate of just one percent benefit-in-kind company car tax from April 2021 for 12 months.
Plus big brand carmakers, such as Volkswagen Group and Mercedes-Benz, will bring more electric vehicles to market in 2021 making choice even wider. DriveElectric believes other brands including PSA, who own Peugeot, Citroën, DS, Opel and Vauxhall brands, with its BEV-specific platform, along with Hyundai and Kia who are expanding their electric car portfolio, will continue to sell large numbers of electric cars in the UK.
Tesla will continue to sell large volumes because of the brand’s popularity according to DriveElectric. These figures could rise further when the brand’s new factories in Berlin and Texas Rampo up production. DriveElectric thinks that Tesla could equal BMW and Mercedes as a 100,000 sales per year luxury brand very quickly in the UK.
DriveElectric says that one overriding factor, which is responsible for the rapid increase in electric car adoption, is the vast majority of people prefer the driving experience of electric vehicles to petrol and diesel cars and vans.
Looking further ahead, DriveElectric sees particularly high numbers of electric vehicle sales from 2025 onwards and could account for around 50 percent of registrations. They believe registrations of petrol and diesel vehicles will decline naturally ahead of the 2030 ban. Plus, people will stop buying them because of poor residual values, which means higher lease costs, and as electric car prices become competitive with prices of internal combustion engine vehicles.
Mike Potter, Managing Director, DriveElectric, said: “It is interesting to see that battery electric vehicle registrations in 2020 exceeded our forecast despite the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021 there will be even more electric vehicle models on sale, so motorists looking to save money on running costs and to banish tailpipe emissions will have even more choice.”
