A sharp rise in demand pushed electric cars to their highest-ever share of the UK car market in July, while sales of diesel and plug-in hybrid cars continued to fall.
A total of 157,198 cars were sold in the UK last month, according to figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). That's a 4.1% decline on the same month last year and represents the fewest cars sold in July since 2012. The SMMT cited continued political and economic uncertainty, along with confusion over future government policy on fuel types, as key reasons behind the fifth consecutive monthly decline.
Diesel registrations fell 22.1% year-on-year, the 28th consecutive monthly decline for the fuel type, with 40,651 cars sold. By contrast, the 103,441 petrol cars sold represented a 2.6% year-on-year rise. Notably, while private sales dropped 2.0% year-on-year, sales to fleet and business customers were down 4.7% and 22.5% respectively.
There were 2271 battery electric vehicles sold last month, a 158.1% increase on the 880 sold in July 2018. That total represented 1.4% of all cars sold in the UK last month – a new record – and means the 14,246 EVs sold so far in 2019 represent 1% of the total UK market.
By contrast, recent changes in government tax policy reducing incentives for plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV) buyers continued to impact the market, with the 1764 PHEVs sold last month down 49.6% year-on-year. By contrast, the 7758 hybrid vehicles sold in July represented a 34.2% year-on-year rise.
SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes called the growth of EV sales “encouraging”. He said: “Thanks to manufacturers’ investment in these new technologies over many years, these cars are coming to market in greater numbers than ever before. If the UK is to meet its environmental ambitions, however, [the] Government must create the right conditions to drive uptake, including long-term incentives and investment in infrastructure.”
The Ford Fiesta was again Britain's best-selling car in July, with 5646 examples sold. The Volkswagen Golf (4288) was second, ahead of the Nissan Qashqai (4047), Ford Focus (3863) and Mercedes-Benz A-Class (3702).
In total, Ford has sold 48,943 Fiestas in the UK so far this year, putting it ahead of the Focus (36,102), Golf (35,781), Qashqai (33,227) and Vauxhall Corsa (33,061).
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PHEV grant
I believe the government were wrong with the removal of this yet still keeping the low BiK rates. The reason quoted was cars going back after leases with charging cables in bags. My guess this is company users who still get preferential tax rates yet private users who probably charge the car are penalised.
As the Jam would sing on the subject of availability
The public gets what the public wants!
Availability
The lack of supply is probably at the route of the lower PHev sales. VW have taken models off of sale. Volvo and Kia quoting next March for delivery etc. Trying to buy an PHev is not easy at the moment.