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.