Category Archives: Sales

Response to BEIS Committee report on electric vehicles

BP Chargemaster, Charging, Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment, Sales

Following the release of the Commons’ Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee (BEIS) report into the future of electric vehicles published today, a number of interested parties have responded.

On the whole, the response has been positive, with the main criticism being that the government needs to be doing a lot more now to boost the roll-out of charging points. One dissenting voice comes from SMMT.

Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive:

“Government’s 2040 ambition was already extremely challenging, so to fast-track that by eight years would be nigh on impossible. We said we need world class infrastructure and world class incentives to have any chance of delivering so the recent cuts to the Plug-in Car Grant and lack of charging facilities – both of which are severely criticised by the Committee – show just how difficult it would be to accelerate this transition.

“Zero emission vehicles make up just 0.6% of the market meaning consumer appetite would have to grow by some 17,000% in just over a decade. This is unrealistic and rejects the evidence put forward by SMMT on behalf of the industry, which is investing billions into these technologies but which recognises consumers need greater confidence and support if they are to buy these vehicles in the numbers we all want.”

David Martell, Chief Executive of BP Chargemaster, said:

“We welcomed the invitation from the BEIS committee to present evidence to its enquiry and we are pleased to see many of our concerns are addressed in its findings.

“The largest factor limiting the growth of the UK EV market today is the number of electric cars physically available. There is probably sufficient demand for around 100,000 new EV registrations in 2018, but that number is likely to be around 60,000 due to supply constraints.

“In terms of charging infrastructure, while the committee endorses the provisions in the Automated and Electric Vehicle Act 2018 to ‘ensure interoperability’, it ignores the fact that this ease of access already exists thanks to the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulations 2017, which mandate ‘ad hoc’, pay-as-you-go access to all public charging points – so the aim of interoperability has already been achieved with existing legislation.

“The committee’s finding that EV charging infrastructure is ‘not fit for purpose’ does not correlate with the overall customer experience and appears to be based on outdated information, and figures relating only to publicly-funded charging points, ignoring the fact that the majority of new infrastructure is being privately-funded. BP Chargemaster will continue to expand its affordable, reliable and convenient charging network over the coming years, to make driving an EV as easy as possible.”

BVRLA Chief Executive Gerry Keaney said:

“The Government’s electric vehicle strategy needs to move from one based on visions to one based on actions. If India, China and Scotland feel able to set a target of banning new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2032, then the UK should be brave enough to meet that challenge as well…”

Read more: Fleet Point

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Electric cars are set for explosive growth, but it’s not all smooth runway ahead

Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment, Sales

The need for energy in transport is determined by the basic laws of physics. Improvements in efficiency will happen, but there are limits as to what can be achieved

The switch to electric cars is speeding up. There are two forces driving this. One is legal or regulatory controls, the other the falling cost of batteries. Some words about each, and then some conclusions.

The spate of legal moves against petrol and diesel vehicles has become an avalanche. Here are just a handful of them. There is a move in parliament to bring forward the date in the UK when all new vehicles will be zero emission from 2040 to 2032 – Norway has pledged to do so by 2025 and India by 2030. In Germany older diesel cars are to be banned from the centre of Hamburg and, more remarkably, from Stuttgart. Stuttgart is Germany’s motor town, home to Mercedes-Benz, Audi and Porsche. True, these are older cars, but the signal is clear: regulations will tighten up on polluting vehicles. In the UK the City of London plans a zero-emission zone as part of an effort to improve air quality. A vote will be taken on this at the end of this month.

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In the US, regulatory progress has been slow but earlier this year the governor of California, Jerry Brown, set a goal of having 5 million electric cars in the state by 2030. The US is, however, a pioneer in that most of its electric vehicle sales are pure plugins rather than hybrids – a tribute to Elon Musk and his Tesla brand.

But the largest and most important car market in the world is China. Here things are moving very fast indeed. All manufacturers will have to have at least one electric vehicle by 2020, and forecasters see this as a trigger for explosive growth.

If it were simply regulation that was pushing the shift it would happen quite slowly. But economics are now reinforcing it. In a nutshell, electric vehicle batteries are expensive but the drive trains are cheap. They simply have electric motors. Internal combustion engine vehicles, by contrast, don’t have the huge batteries but they have extremely complex (and expensive) drive trains – the engine, the clutch, the gearbox and so on. A Tesla has about 150 moving parts, whereas a typical internal combustion engine has several thousand. The batteries in a pure electric car are still the most expensive item. It is estimated that those in a Tesla Model 3 cost $13,000 (£9,950) to make.

Read more: Independent

Diesel and petrol ban should come much faster, say MPs

Electric Cars, Energy and Climate Change, News, Reviews and Comment, Pollution, Sales

A ban on sales of new petrol and diesel cars should be brought forward by eight years to 2032, MPs have said.

The government’s current plans to ensure all new cars are “effectively zero emission” by 2040 were “vague and unambitious”, a report by Parliament’s business select committee said.

It also criticised cuts to subsidies and the lack of charging points.

The government said it aimed to make the UK “the best place in the world” to own an electric vehicle.

However, the report from the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy committee said the government’s deeds did not match the ambitions of its words.

The committee’s chairwoman, Rachel Reeves MP, said the government’s targets gave “little clarity or incentive to industry or the consumer to invest in electric cars.”

‘Zero means zero’

Earlier this year the prime minister said that all new cars and vans should be “effectively zero emission” by 2040.

The government’s Road to Zero Strategy said it wanted “almost every car and van” in the UK to be zero emission by 2050. However it was unclear which, if any, hybrid models were being included.

The committee said “zero should mean zero” and called for the government to bring forward “a clear, precise target for new sales of cars and vans to be truly zero emission by 2032”.

The UK was among the top 10 countries for electric vehicle sales in 2017, and has around 14,500 public charging points. However, in its report the committee said the country was far from electric vehicle ready.

Read more: BBC

Reduce emissions or build more electric cars

Electric Cars, Energy and Climate Change, News, Reviews and Comment, Pollution, Sales

The European Parliament has approved a draft law to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide from new cars by 20 per cent by 2025 and 40 per cent by 2030.

The proposal, a hard-won compromise between environmentalists and auto industry advocates, would reduce emissions from petrol and diesel cars and an increased focus on electric cars. MEPs set target of 30 per cent of new car and van sales to be electric by 2030.

One amendment passed by the parliament concerned a bonus system, whereby companies would be allowed a lower CO2 reduction target if they produced a certain proportion of electric cars.

However, if manufacturers fail to produce enough electric vehicles to meet the proposal’s benchmark, they would be obliged to reduce emissions beyond the 40 per cent target in order to compensate.

Carbon emissions from cars and vans have been a contentious subject of discussion in Europe since 2015, when Volkswagen was found to have rigged diesel engines to pass emissions tests. Many diesels were subsequently discovered to be more pollutant than had been believed. Some cities recommended banning older diesels altogether; while the Danish government recently proposed a full ban on new petrol and diesel cars by 2030.

Read more: Government Europa

How much does servicing an electric car cost – and is it cheaper?

Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment, Sales

A new study by automotive data experts Cap HPI has revealed the average servicing and maintenance costs for electric cars. It shows that EVs cost, on average, 23 percent less to run than petrol vehicles over a three-year/60,000-mile period.

For smaller cars, the gap gets wider still. An electric Renault Zoe will set you back £1,100 in servicing and maintenance over three years, but a Vauxhall Corsa 1.0 90 Design costs nearly £1,500. That’s more than 35 percent extra.

The Nissan Leaf, currently the best-selling EV in the UK, costs just under £1,200 over three years. Compare that to the VW Golf 1.0 TSI at £1,429 and you’re staring at a saving of nearly 20 percent.

The number of electric vehicles on the road has jumped by 128 percent over the past three years, with more than 21,000 drivers taking the leap between April 2015 and April 2018. Purchasing costs are still notably higher than a comparable petrol-powered car, but servicing is where you can potentially claw that back.

Read more: Motoring Research

Denmark embraces electric car revolution with petrol and diesel ban plan

Electric Cars, Energy and Climate Change, News, Reviews and Comment, Pollution, Sales

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) – Denmark has proposed a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030 and hybrid from 2035, joining international efforts to promote electric-only vehicles to reduce air pollution and combat climate change.

The government has previously come under fire for increasing tax on electric cars in 2016, sending sales down from more than 3 percent of all new cars to almost zero, but now aims to follow the example being set in an increasing number of countries.

“It is a big ambition that will be hard to achieve. But that’s exactly why we need to try,”

Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen told parliament on Tuesday.

The plan requires parliamentary approval to become law and will be presented to parliament next week.

Britain and France have both pledged to ban new petrol and diesel cars from 2040 in move that could hit the wealth of oil producers and transform a car industry in which global carmakers are scrambling to adapt to the brave new world of electric vehicles.

Read more: Reuters

Electric and hybrid cars: Cuts to Plug-in Car Grant condemned

Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment, Opinion, Sales

Motoring groups have condemned the government’s decision to cut subsidies for buying greener cars.

From 9 November, grants for new plug-in hybrids will be scrapped, while discounts on all-electric cars will be cut from £4,500 to £3,500.

Cash incentives have been offered since 2011 to help promote cleaner cars and meet emissions targets.

The RAC and AA motoring groups said the change was a backward step, and the SMMT trade body called it “astounding”.

The Department for Transport (DfT) said that the Plug-in Car Grant was introduced seven years ago to help the market become established.

It was now time to focus support on zero-emission models such as pure electric and hydrogen fuel cell cars, the DfT added.

The change comes three months after the government published its Road to Zero strategy, with a proposal to remove petrol and diesel cars from UK roads by 2050, forcing all motorists to own electric models.

Ultra-low emission vehicles currently available for discounts are placed into three categories:

  • Category 1: CO₂ emissions of less than 50g/km and a zero emission range of at least 70 miles
  • Category 2: CO₂ emissions of less than 50g/km and a zero emission range between 10 and 69 miles
  • Category 3: CO₂ emissions of 50 to 75g/km and a zero emission range of at least 20 miles.

The government said the cut in the support for Category 1 cars to £3,500 reflected recent reductions in the price of electric vehicles.

But motoring groups denounced the changes, saying it would leave the government struggling to meet its emissions reduction targets.

Read more: BBC