Category Archives: Buying/Leasing

Electric vehicles: if the UK is serious about being a major player, here’s what needs to happen

January 3, 2023Buying/Leasing, Electric Cars, Ford, News, Reviews and CommentRepost

The UK’s efforts to become a global player in electric vehicles (EVs) are back in the spotlight with two government announcements: a £500 million loan guarantee for Ford and a £73 million package to support various smaller clean transport projects.

The loan guarantee is enabling Ford to spend £230 million on its Halewood plant near Liverpool to nearly double output of EV powertrains to 420,000 units a year. Powertrains are the motor and other parts that propel EVs forward.

It is also helping Ford to invest £370 million in its global R&D headquarters in Essex to help support EV development. Ford’s Mustang Mach-E SUV is one of the best selling EVs in the world, though it is currently made in Mexico.

The government’s second £73 million package is a 50-50 investment with the auto industry. Among five projects receiving support is one aiming to develop a more efficient way of manufacturing EVs.

While these announcements are very welcome, we have seen numerous similar ones in recent years. But what’s the the big picture? How far is the UK from being a powerhouse in global EV?

Assembly lines

The UK currently produces over 850,000 cars a year, the vast majority petrol and diesel. Over 700,000 are exported, more than half to the EU.

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Electric car servicing and repairs in the UK: costs, pitfalls and finding a local garage

December 7, 2022Cost of ownership, Electric Cars, News, Reviews and CommentRepost

The popularity of electric cars is growing exponentially. But with more and more on the road, where do you go to get your pride and joy maintained and repaired?

Electric cars are here to stay. Before too long, they’ll be the only option open to new car buyers in the UK and a little while after that they’ll be the majority of all cars on the road. That, of course, means people are going to need to service, maintain and repair electric cars in rapidly increasing numbers.

The environmental angle is a big selling point for electric cars but to get the full benefit the car needs to be used for a long time, not treated as a disposable commodity. That means we need the availability of high quality servicing and maintenance from dealers and independent garages that know what they’re doing.

Kia Niro PHEV, Plug In Hybrid, Geneva Motorshow 2017 (Image: Kia)

This is a big challenge for the car industry. Electric cars are different to the internal combustion engined vehicles we’ve been using for a century. The right training and tooling are needed before mechanics used to petrol and diesel cars can turn their hand to EVs or even plug-in hybrids. Right now, electric car owners can take their cars to main franchised dealers where the investment in the necessary skills should have happened but in the future we will also need cheaper, independent options to keep older EVs on the road.

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Comment: What will electric car tax mean to EV drivers like me? How much will it cost?

November 30, 2022Buying/Leasing, Electric Cars, Fleet, News, Reviews and Comment, OpinionRepost

After any budget announcement there is always a great deal of hand-wringing from those who are suddenly being taxed more, or feel that incentives don’t go far enough.

This time, it is the turn of electric car drivers like me.

The chancellor stood up today and said that the zero rate for road tax on electric cars is going to end. In addition, benefit-in-kind rates for company car drivers making the switch are going to rise 1% per year from 2025.

There are concerns, of course, but generally the reaction from electric car drivers across social media has been much less angry than expected.

Drivers seem to acknowledge that the change was inevitable as electric cars became more popular and the hole in the government’s finances became bigger.

Battery electric vehicles have accounted for 14.6 per cent of the total new car sales so far this year, outstripping the demand for diesel.

The share is growing fast, with registrations up nearly 40 per cent this year, meaning there are now more than a million plug-in vehicles on British roads. That’s a lot of tax to give away for free.

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Sales of used electric vehicles reach record highs – but rest of the market feels full impact of stock shortage

November 25, 2022Buying a new car, Electric Cars, News, Reviews and CommentRepost

According to a new report published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), used battery electric vehicle (BEV) demand reached record levels in Q3, as sales grew by 44.1% to 16,775 vehicles.
However, the UK used car market saw transactions fall 12.2% in Q3, with only 1,785,447 vehicles changing hands.

This is the second consecutive quarter of decline as new car supply shortages are being blamed for the drop in sales.

This is the first time that Q3 transactions have fallen below two million since 2015.

The SMMT believe that semiconductor shortages that are impacting a healthy supply of stock is the core issue.

This is further shown in the year to date information, as sales are now down 9.7% to 5,319,482 compared to the previous year.

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Despite the challenges facing the wider industry, there is positive news for the electric vehicle market.

Used BEV sales have now reached 48,032 in the year to date (January to September 2022).

The market for used hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) also grew, up 2.5% in the quarter with 41,479 transactions.

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First Drive: Is the MG4 EV the car to tempt buyers away from well-established brands?

November 22, 2022Buying/Leasing, Electric Cars, MG, News, Reviews and Comment, OpinionRepost

MG is broadening its EV line-up with the new MG4. Ted Welford gets behind the wheel.

The modern-day MG is a far cry from the one that produced classic British sports cars, but it’s proving no less successful. Owned by Chinese automotive giant SAIC Motor, MG is the fastest-growing car brand in the UK and sales have grown by 70 per cent in 2022 alone (up to the end of October).

It now sells more cars here than the likes of Land Rover, Mini and Skoda, and much of its success has come from its electric models – the ZS EV crossover and MG5 estate. The brand is now expanding further with the new MG4, its first electric hatchback and one that’s set to grow this brand even further. But is it set to succeed?

What’s new?

The MG4 is the first model to be based on a new electric car platform. (MG)

The MG4 is the first model from the firm to use a bespoke EV platform that will go on to be used in a number of electric MGs in future years – the key advantage to this being that it’s rear-wheel-drive and uses a thin battery that takes up minimal space.

The MG4 also shows a more adventurous design direction for MG, though more on that later. But crucial to the appeal of the MG4 is its price, which starts from £25,995, and undercuts rivals by a significant chunk of money.

E.U. plans for only electric new vehicles by 2035 ‘without precedent’

November 14, 2022Buying/Leasing, Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment, OpinionRepost

After months of negotiations, the European Union reached a political agreement this week to effectively ban new nonelectric cars from 2035 onward.

The agreement, reached at 9 p.m. on Thursday in Brussels and announced by the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament, amounts to a 100 percent carbon dioxide emission reduction target for new cars and vans by 2035.

“This agreement will pave the way for the modern and competitive automotive industry in the EU. The world is changing, and we must remain at the forefront of innovation,” Jozef Sikela — the minister of industry and trade in the Czech Republic, which holds the rotating council presidency — said in a statement.

The legislation still needs to be approved formally to become law in the E.U., one of the largest automobile markets and home to some of the biggest manufacturers. However, approval by the Council and European Parliament is expected, with only minor changes.

Many climate change campaigners, who hoped other governments would follow in the E.U.’s footsteps in effectively banning new gas and diesel vehicles, welcomed the news.

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Ford plows ahead with electric vehicle rollout, scrapping Ford Fiesta production

November 10, 2022Buying/Leasing, Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment, SalesRepost

Ford drops Fiesta to focus on electric vehicles

It’s the end of an era, as the Ford Fiesta will be dropped from the automaker’s lineup sooner than expected. Ford says it will be saying farewell to the iconic little model that 22 million drivers trusted to get them where they need to go over five decades.

Meanwhile, Ford is gearing up for one of the most significant transformations in the automaker’s rich history, a fully electric one. The American automaker is scrapping production of its Ford Fiesta model next summer to focus on the next generation of electric vehicles in Europe.

Electric Car Line-up (Image: Go Ultra Low)

The move comes a year earlier than expected as Ford begins rolling out all-electric models across its lineup.

Earlier this year, Ford released plans to become an all-electric brand in Europe by 2035, introducing nine EV models by 2024. The EV rollout started with the successful launch of the Mach-E and Mach-E GT and the E-Transit commercial van.

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‘Huge wave’ of electric cars expected on UK roads ahead of 2030 petrol and diesel car ban

November 2, 2022Buying a new car, Electric Cars, News, Reviews and CommentRepost

The UK is set to see major growth in electric car sales in the coming years once supply chain issues have been resolved.

The UK Government plans to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles from 2030, followed by a similar ban on plug-in hybrid vehicles five years later. Petrol, diesel and hybrid HGVs over 26 tonnes could be banned from 2040, subject to a Government consultation.

The Government first introduced the “historic step towards net zero” in November 2020.

Norway is set to ban the new sales of petrol and diesel cars from 2025, with electric vehicles accounting for more than 50 percent of car sales in the nation.

The European Union has also agreed to an effective ban of internal combustion engine vehicles by 2035, following a European Commission vote earlier this year.

Casper Rasmussen, CEO of Monta, spoke about how the various petrol and diesel car sales bans will take effect and impact drivers.

Speaking to Express.co.uk, he said: “If you look at it from a CO2 and emissions point of view, you want it to be as fast as possible.

“For an adjustment point of view for the different countries, I think it’s a fair place to put it.

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Electric cars are ‘much cheaper’ to run compared to petrol and diesel – ‘key benefits’

November 1, 2022Buying/Leasing, Charging, Electric CarsRepost

Electric cars can be half as cheap to run as petrol or diesel vehicles, according to new data.

Drivers charging at home on electric vehicle (EV) tariff save just over 56 percent compared to petrol or diesel per-mile costs. They are nearly a quarter cheaper (24 percent) for those who charge at home on a standard energy tariff.

The data, from New Automotive, found that electric vehicles are now more than half as cheap to run than a petrol or diesel vehicle when charged at home on a dedicated EV energy tariff.

The organisation has launched a fuel cost tracker to measure car running costs.

Renault ZOE in contactless car vending machine (Image: Taylor Herring)

It found that home-charged electric cars can be more than half as cheap as petrol and diesel.

It converts the latest available energy prices into a cost-per-mile figure and compares the difference in running costs between fuel types in an interactive chart.

Energy prices rises have made it harder to monitor changes to the relative running cost of petrol, diesel and electric cars – but the tracker solves this problem.

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One millionth plug-in car registered, strong September for EV sales

October 26, 2022Buying a new car, Electric Cars, News, Reviews and CommentRepost

September showed to be a strong month for electric vehicles (EVs) with the one millionth plug-in car registered in the UK.

This year alone represents a quarter of total plug-in EVs registered, according to the latest data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

While battery electric vehicles (BEVs) registered its second highest monthly volume in history with 38,116 units, a 16.5% rise year-over-year (YoY).

The strong performance of BEVs registrations in September comes after recent figures from RAC Foundation, released this week, showed that pure the number of BEVs sales exceeded half a million at the end of June 2022.

Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: “September has seen Britain’s millionth electric car reach the road – an important milestone in the shift to zero emission mobility. Battery electric vehicles make up but a small fraction of cars on the road, so we need to ensure every lever is pulled to encourage motorists to make the shift if our green goals are to be met.”

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