Autocar - First for car news and reviews

Sales of electric cars have more than halved this year, forcing one EV manufacturer - the NICE Car Company - into administration.

Just 156 EVs have been sold in the UK since the start of the year, according to cleangreencars.co.uk.

London-based NICE, which sold the Mega City and was looking to expand its range, had recently opened its second showroom in the new Westfield shopping centre. The firm showcased a Fiat 500 with its electric drivetrain technology at this year’s London m...Read the full article

It's quite a shame in a way, because NICE put on quite a show at the London Motorshow this year in the Electric Car Pavillion. However, their cars have always been too expensive, and I'm actually not surprised about GoinGreen with the G-Wiz, knowing how dreadful it is in a crash. Still, this obviously isn't the end of the Electric car. They just need to get more mainstream...

 You see, you don't want to encourage environmentally friendly motoring with nonsense like incentives, rebates, all that kind of stuff. People might save money, and we all know where that leads!

No, you want to encourage it by taxing everything. Then tax it again. That way, eventually, everyone runs out of money. Much better.

I got caught out with LPG, missed the incentives by just weeks. So I left Britain and took my LPG car with me. That'll teach 'em, eh?

Sort of shows who was actually buying these things, rich city bankers and company directors.  Fair enough, the environmentalists will say that every little bit helps but in real terms "normal" people just aren't buying them.  So what's the point?

I still maintain, refine the current internal engine technology whilst keeping prices sensible and more real people will get on board with the whole eco driving thing.

"Electric car sales collapse"

Yes, but why no comment from Autocar on the far more significant and now almost day old news on the collapse of all car sales?

The November new car sales figures, released by SMMT yesterday, showed a 36.8% fall compared to Nov07. This was the worst figure since 1982.

Also unreported by Autocar was the worse than expected fall in US new car sales in November, down 37% too(GM down 41%), as released on Tuesday this week.

Amongst the overall 37% fall in the UK the number of private purchasers fell by almost half(down 45.1%) compared to Nov07 which is truly shocking.

Also unreported here is the equally shocking decline in van sales, or light commercial vehicles under 3.5tonnes GVW.

 http://www.smmt.co.uk/articles/article.cfm?articleid=18618

Van registrations were down by nearly half at 46.9% in November compared to Nov07.

LDV, the producer of panel vans, pick ups and light trucks, was down by around 70% - 66% in van sales and 73% in light trucks. That's another 900 or so jobs in Birmingham in jeopardy.

When the going gets tough, sod the environment.

Sod the environment anyway, what's it ever done for us?

Time for a new planet anyway.

Pity the headline wasn't "Electric Shock".

I have been rather fond of these cars and liked the idea of it using electricity providing clean green travel, as long as the electric is from a renewable source, and the recycled approach to it's construction.

On a different note, i didn't like the way electric cars were given a discount (free) from the congestion charge.  Remember that word 'congestion', not eco charge.  Whereas an electric car would generally be more environmentally friendly and cleaner, it still causes congestion like a petrol / diesel car.  Of course to be more environmentally friendly and to reduce congestion which is the point, getting people out of electric cars as well as petrol / diesel cars and onto public transport should have been the goal.

When it's a congestion charge, all cars should pay the same.  If it was an eco charge, then electric cars should travel for less, but not free.  Also, they should prove they are signed up to an electricity provider who generates electricity in an eco way as they say.