Electric vehicle sales slower than expected

A new report from npower suggests that British consumers are not clued-up about electric vehicles or the Plug-in Car Grant that subsidises some new electric cars up to £5,000.

Nearly half of the 2,000 people questioned said that the initial expense of buying an electric vehicle was a barrier to purchase.

Respondents believed that a car would cost around £15 to charge, and take seven hours to complete – in reality, most EVs can be charged for around £2, and many have the potential to receive an 80% charge in around half an hour.

Around a third of those questioned thought that there were less than 50 charging points in the UK, whereas there are currently over 300 EV charging locations, often with several points at each. The number is also rapidly growing.

In-line with the lack of knowledge of the majority of those surveyed, initial sales of EVs over the first quarter of 2011 have been slower than expected. Although the Plug-in Car Grant, which became available on 4th January this year with the capacity to subsidise 8,600 EV sales, official figures released this week show that only 534 EV have registered for a grant, and a mere 213 have so far been delivered.

If EV sales continue at the current rate, not even a quarter of the available grant will be allocated in the 15 months during which the subsidy is to be available. That said, sales are up significantly since 2010, during which time only 55 electric vehicles were sold, the majority of which were the G-Wiz quadricycle.

However, the technology is still very new, and there are only a handful of EVs actually available to buy. As this number grows, and consumer attitude and awareness increases, sales are likely to accelerate. In the npower survey, just 33% initially said that they would consider buying an EV, but after some brief explanation, this rose to 41%.

Phil Evans, head of e-mobility for npower, which commissioned the survey to launch its new EV Tariff, comments, “Brits might not have much knowledge of EVs, but in spite of this, a significant number of us are still open to buying one.

“In light of our research, the news is all positive – EVs are cheaper to buy and to charge than people think, travel further and in the next couple of years, can be charged all over the UK.”

npower, The Guardian