UK is Now Europe's Second Largest Electric Vehicle Market Topping France

In the first quarter of this year, the United Kingdom surpassed France to become Europe's second-largest electric car market, owing to increasing demand for zero-emission vehicles.

According to Matthias Schmidt, an independent automobile expert, around 31,800 electric vehicles were delivered in the UK in the first three months of the year, compared to 30,500 in France.

Rising EV Trend

Since the beginning of 2020, electric vehicle sales have exploded, thanks in part to new pollution regulations that threaten automakers with steep penalties if their vehicles' average carbon dioxide content does not decrease.

According to industry data, battery electrics accounted for 7.5 percent of UK sales in the first three months of this year, almost double the market share relative to the same timeframe in 2020.

Despite the coronavirus pandemic, European consumers purchased more than half a million hybrid vehicles in 2020. According to Schmidt's projections, the number will double to 1 million sales in 2021, while pure electrics will still account for just a tenth of the overall European car demand by 2024.

Leading EV Market

With 64,700 sold in the first year, Germany is the largest single market for battery electric vehicles in Europe. This result was aided in part by generous subsidies, which the German government doubled in June to help the country's car industry, which is critical to Europe's largest economy. Most markets are proportionately more along in the transition to electric vehicles than the United Kingdom. Thanks to generous incentives, Norway is the first country in the world to sell more hybrid vehicles than fossil fuel cars in 2020.

"The UK is likely to remain the number two European BEV (battery electric vehicle) market this year, although a long way behind market leader Germany, where automakers are depending on generous discounts to reach European-wide targets," Schmidt added.

To meet the post-Brexit carbon quotas, automakers will have to expand their sales of plug-in cars in the UK in a "make-or-break year," according to Schmidt. The regulations are similar to those in the EU, but going it alone would prevent carmakers from balancing the UK's SUV customers with less-polluting vehicles offered in other countries.

According to Schmidt, there has also been evidence of suppliers attempting to push lower-emitting models in the UK. BMW, the German luxury carmaker, lowered the price of its hybrid i3 at the end of March to hit a lower bar for government incentives.

Though deliveries to British customers are projected to increase rapidly, drivers are worried that the country's charging infrastructure is inadequate. According to a YouGov poll conducted by CTEK, an electric car charger firm, 78 percent of British drivers believe charging infrastructure is insufficient, compared to 65 percent in the other European countries surveyed.

High Cost

According to the poll, the comparatively higher sticker price of electric vehicles is the key factor stopping more consumers from purchasing them, which is in line with other surveys. However, as demand rises, costs are projected to fall to levels comparable to those of fossil fuel vehicles, creating a virtuous cycle.

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