Of all the issues facing the broker market in 2021, possibly the biggest is staring us in the face. And yet I can find hardly any expressions of concern or advice, on line or in person.

We know now that sales of new petrol and diesel cars are to end in the UK by 2030, but do we know how this momentous decision will impact the housing market?

Certainly I have not seen any lender, estate agents or surveyor factoring the impact of electric vehicles into their pricing.

But neither does it follow that as professionals, we should not be bringing the issue to the attention of our clients – especially in such a topsy-turvy market where people in search of a home as a long term investment have never been as in need of, or receptive to, expert advice.

Brokers are faced with a genuinely unique opportunity to gen up on this dynamic subject, study local authority plans and debates and put themselves in a position of strength with which to help their clients.

This will, after all, be one of the most important development effecting house pricing over the next two decades.

The broker is still the only provider of sound and objective financial advice to whom most of us can turn when it comes to a buying a home, and right now our customers want more than just figures.

They want opinions. It’s not just about finances when societal issues are about to play such a massive part in undermining asking prices and second guessing conventional valuations.

No broker, no comment
EastEnders and Coronation Street live in a cosy parallel reality, but any broker serving an urban market is faced with a different scenario.

The fictional street scape of the 1920s bears no relation to the densification of the 2020s.

Universal charging points will see cuts to parking spaces of upwards of 60% on some residential roads.

This will have a direct effect on demand. Blocks of flats with no parking and terraced houses are the most vulnerable of all to stagnating prices.

Smart houses in leafy suburbs, where off and on street parking is plentiful, however, will enjoy an easier path to electrification, with a direct effect on price.

That said, there are no simple answers. Urban locations won’t be the only one to suffer. The hearts of many small to medium more rural towns and villages are also strangulated with parking problems.

A loss of around a quarter of local parking spaces will have a dramatic impact.

You might argue that demand for housing will rise, that the economy will prove resilient to Brexit and that valuations will maintain conventional trajectories.

But it’s by no means a stretch to suggest that the value of properties without parking or designated electric vehicle bays will suffer, while those with their own car charging or designated bays could easily increase by 15%-20% – over and above the 5-10% increase in value that having parking spaces already commands.

It’s micrographics, not just demographics
That’s why the advice you give has to be granular. For homeowners and landlords, demand will invariably fall for certain types of property. But rise for others.

In many London boroughs car ownership is already falling among younger people, motivated by electric scooters and excellent public transport.

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A car industry body has called on the government to support uptake among private buyers.

Two-thirds of all new electric cars bought in the UK are purchased by businesses, rather than private buyers, according to a leading industry body. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), which records ‘official’ figures on new car sales and production, says the growth in the electric car market is being driven by the corporate sector.

According to the SMMT data, sales of electric cars rocketed in 2020, with the market up 185.9 percent compared with 2019. In total, more than 108,000 new electric cars were registered, giving the technology a total market share of 6.6 percent.

But the picture looks different when you split those sales between private consumers, who registered 34,324 electric cars in 2020, and companies, which registered 73,881 new electric cars. And battery-electric cars made up 4.6 percent of all new cars sold to private buyers last year, whereas they accounted for almost nine percent of corporate registrations.

Of course, the corporate sector has always made up a large proportion of new car sales, and these figures may not come as a great shock to industry insiders. In total, so-called ‘fleet’ sales made up 53 percent of all new car registrations last year, while private customers accounted for just 44 percent of the market.

And when it comes to electric cars, it’s companies and company car drivers that get the lion’s share of incentives. Tax rates have been cut, so electric cars now only incur Benefit-in-Kind (BiK) tax at one percent for the 2021/22 financial year. And in 2020/21, drivers didn’t have to pay a penny in company car tax.

However, both private and corporate customers will have felt the impact of changes to the government’s Plug-In Car Grant, which was slashed for cars costing £35,000 or more. The grant was also reduced, so eligible cars only saw their prices cut by £2,500, rather than the earlier £3,000.

Now, the SMMT says more must be done to help consumers into electric vehicles – particularly in light of the government’s plan to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030. The organisation says consumer acceptance of the technology is still low because of “concerns over affordability, charge point availability and infrastructure reliability”.

And the SMMT claims encouraging customers to make the switch will require more than just a few financial incentives; it also wants to see accelerated growth in electric vehicle charging infrastructure. In fact, the trade body says its estimates suggest the UK will need around 2.3 million public charge points in service by 2030 to provide “adequate coverage”. To achieve that figure, the country will need to install more than 700 charge points a day until the end of the decade. At the moment, the UK is installing around 42 chargers a day.

“While last year’s bumper uptake of electric vehicles is to be welcomed, it’s clear this has been an electric revolution primarily for fleets, not families,” said SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes. “Manufacturers are committed to the consumer, reducing costs and providing as wide a choice as possible of zero-emission capable vehicles with many more to come.

“To deliver an electric revolution that is affordable, achievable and accessible to all by 2030, however, government and other stakeholders must put ordinary drivers at the heart of policy and planning. We need incentives that tempt consumers, infrastructure that is robust and charging points that provide reassurance, so that zero-emission mobility will be possible for everyone, regardless of income or location.”

Read more: motor1

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The Government has cut the electric car grant from £3,000 to £2,500 and excluded models that cost more than £35,000.

It says grants will no longer be available for higher-priced vehicles, “typically bought by drivers who can afford to switch without a subsidy from taxpayers”.

Tax incentives, including favourable company car tax rates, will remain in place, however.

The changes are expected to allow the funding to last longer and be available for more drivers, reflecting the growth in the number of cheaper electric cars.

Transport Minister Rachel Maclean said: “We want as many people as possible to be able to make the switch to electric vehicles as we look to reduce our carbon emissions, strive towards our net-zero ambitions and level up right across the UK.

“The increasing choice of new vehicles, growing demand from customers and rapidly rising number of charge points mean that, while the level of funding remains as high as ever, given soaring demand, we are refocusing our vehicle grants on the more affordable zero emission vehicles – where most consumers will be looking and where taxpayers’ money will make more of a difference.

“We will continue to review the grant as the market grows.”

The Government has announced a £20 million research and development competition to find solutions to the challenges associated with increasing the uptake of zero emission vehicles (ZEVs) and the necessary infrastructure

New Government legislation is also set to end the monopoly on electric car charging at motorway services, by ensuring chargers are reliable and accessible by all.

The plug-in vehicle grant scheme was renewed last year when plug-in hybrids and cars costing more than £50,000 were excluded. It was originally introduced in 2011 and has supported the purchase of 285,000 vehicles to date.

Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), believes the decision is the wrong move to make. He said: “New battery electric technology is more expensive than conventional engines and incentives are essential in making these vehicles affordable to the customer.

“Cutting the grant and eligibility moves the UK even further behind other markets, markets which are increasing their support, making it yet more difficult for the UK to get sufficient supply.

“This sends the wrong message to the consumer, especially private customers, and to an industry challenged to meet the Government’s ambition to be a world leader in the transition to zero emission mobility.”

The number of electric cars on UK roads is expected to exceed that of diesel-powered models by 2030, research by The AA has found.

Plug-in van customers had been eligible for a 20% reduction on the vehicle purchase price, up to a maximum of £8,000. However, this has changed to 35% of the purchase price for small vans, up to a maximum of £3,000 and 20% of the purchase price for a large van, up to a maximum of £6,000.

The plug-in truck grant, which had provided funding of up to £20,000, has been cut by £4,000. The new grant covers 20% of the purchase price, up to a maximum of £16,000. It will be available for the first 250 orders placed. Grants at the £16,000 rate are also limited to 10 per customer. After the 250-order limit is reached, a maximum grant rate of £6,000 will apply.

The British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA) also criticised the timing of the decision to cut the plug-in grant.

Read more: SMART TRANSPORT

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