2017 Top Trends in United Kingdom Electric Vehicle Market
The Government of United Kingdom, by 2040, banned the
sale of petrol and diesel vehicles and last month Oxford became the first city
to ban these vehicles from the city centre by 2020.
With
diesel and petrol going under heaviness from consumers and from governments
interest to reduce the harmful emission created by internal combustion engine.
Electric vehicles seem to be the future of the United Kingdom’s road. Today,
the technology is so advanced that the electric vehicles can surpass 300 miles
and offers same comfort and safety like conventionally powered vehicles. Seems
like, Time is really changing.
Between
the month of July and September, over 12,000 plug-in vehicles were registered
which is a rise of around 36% on the same period 2016.
Continuously
expanding manufacturing of electric vehicles, expanding variety of electric
vehicles by OEM’s with low running cost as the battery prices are declined and
better infrastructure for electric vehicles charging drives the United
Kingdom Electric vehicle market.
In
UK, new registrations of plug-in cars increased from 3,500 in 2013 to more than
1,22,000 by the end of September 2017. As a percentage of new car registrations
in the country, electric cars now represent more than 1.8 per cent of the total
car market in the UK.
United
Kingdom Electric Vehicle Market is
expected to grow at a CAGR of over 15% during the forecast period on the back
of declining Li-ion battery prices, growing consumer preferences for advance
technology systems and government regulations for electric vehicles in United
Kingdom.
According to Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders
(SMMT), the registration of electric cars in United Kingdom have risen
drastically over the past five years.
During the first half of 2014, only around 500 electric new vehicle
registration per month was there but in first half of 2017 more than 4,000
electric vehicles were registered. By the end of year 2016, over 35,000 plug-in
cars had been registered -- these were the biggest numbers ever. As a percentage
of new car registrations, Electric cars now contribute approx. 1.8 percent of
the total new car market in the country.
UK’s Top Electric Vehicle
Models :
Model Name
|
Unites Sold (By End of June 2017, since last two
years)
|
Mitsubishi's Outlander PHEV
|
29,500 units
|
Nissan Leaf
|
17,250
units
|
Mercedes Benz C 350e
|
8,000 units
|
Source:
Techsci Research
What companies
are doing for EV infrastructure in United Kingdom?
In
2011, Ecotricity, the company launched its first electric vehicle charge point
in United Kingdom. The company has also launched its Electric Highway Charging
app that provides real time location and status of charging points. In 2017,
the company stated the expansion of its electric highway network by launching
30 new charge points for electric vehicles.
In August 2017, the ChargePoint Services and Motor Fuel
Group has joined forces to install 50KW and rapid
chargers across UK with the number of operating petrol pump brands like BP,
Shell, Murco, JET etc. All these petrol pumps will have charging points which
will be run by ChargePoint Services.
In October 2017,
Shell, the oil firm, confirms that the company will be soon opening electric
vehicle charging stations at its UK petrol stations. The company claims that
the drivers will be able to recharge their vehicle’s 80 percent battery in just
half an hour.
According to Government of United Kingdom:
The
government has launched incentive schemes for plug-in vehicles in United
Kingdom. Under this scheme different category vehicles will be given different
incentives based on vehicle emissions and vehicle cost.
Category 1:
- Less than
50g/km CO2 Emissions and can travel at least 112km without any CO2
Emission, in this category the models that includes are: BMWi3, BYD e6, Nissan
LEAF, Renault Zoe, Tesla Model S, Tesla Model X, Ford Focus Electric, Kia Soul
EV, and many more.
- The grant will
pay for 35% of the purchase price for these vehicles, up to a maximum of
£4,500.
Category 2:
- The vehicles which can travel at least 16km without any CO2
Emission, the models that are included: BMW 225xe, BMW 330 e, Kia Niro PHEV,
Mercedes-Benz C350e, MINI Countryman PHEV, Mitsubishi Outlander, Volkswagen
Golf GTE and many more.
- The grant will pay for 35% of the purchase price for these vehicles,
up to a maximum of £2,500.
Motorcycles 3:
- The vehicles have no CO2 Emission and can travel up
to 31 Miles between charging, the models included are Vmoto 120, Vmoto 100,
Zero Motorcycles, BMW C evolution, Torrot Muvi.
- The grant will pay for 20% of the purchase price for
these vehicles, up to a maximum of £1,500.
What??
You can charge your car while driving??
And
the answer is YES!!! The government
of the U.K. is planning to add plug-in chargers in every 20 miles of the
highway. Moreover, the government is planning for the expansion of electric
highways, these highways can wirelessly charge vehicle while driving. This
system would use electric cables under the roads that will help the vehicle to
charge while driving. This will increase the sales of electric vehicles in the
country and will have the time of the consumer of charging the electric
vehicle.
Conclusion:
United
Kingdom Electric Vehicle Market is
expected to grow at a CAGR of over 15% over the next five years on the back of
declining Li-ion battery prices, growing consumer preferences for advance
technology systems and government regulations for electric vehicles in United
Kingdom. Moreover, key indicator of the UK market for electric vehicles is the
availability of number of different segments covered by the electric models and
OEM’s are working on better technology due to availability of infrastructure in
the country and this will further generate the demand of electric vehicle over
the next five years.