- News -
One in six new cars can be plugged in as demand for EVs doubles
Published December 10, 2021
One in six new cars are now capable of being plugged in, according to new car industry figures. Adding in hybrid vehicles, this means more than a quarter of the new cars registered in the UK during 2021 were electrified.
Figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) show demand for battery electric vehicles (BEVs) more than doubled to 18.8% of the market compared to November last year. Over the same period, plug-in hybrid vehicles’ (PHEVs) share of the market grew to 9.3%. Taking BEVs and PHEVs together, this means 17.5% (one in six) of new cars are now capable of being plugged in.
When combined with hybrid vehicles, 26.5% of the new car market was electrified during 2021. In terms of units, of 115,706 new cars registered in November, 21,726 were BEVS, while 10,796 were PHEVs.
Despite rising demand, there are now 16 plug-in cars vying for every public on-street charger. This figure was 11 in 2019. Only one on-street public charger was installed for every 52 new plug-in cars registered this year.
SMMT is calling on the government to impose binding targets for the provision of public charging points in order to improve the 16:1 ratio of EVs to chargers.
Meanwhile, other players in the sector are offering their own solutions to any anxieties that potential EV drives might have. According to reports in BusinessGreen and Energy Live News, Scottish Power and the AA have announced a scheme to allay fears EV drivers might have about the range of their batteries. Under the scheme, any customer who purchases an EV home charger from Scottish Power gets a free service from the AA. Drivers who discover they are out of charge when driving their EVs could contact the AA and pick them up and take them to the nearest EV charge point or home.
Alfa Energy Group is working with its clients to help install onsite electric vehicle charging stations on their premises, to allow clients’ employees to charge their electric vehicles while they work, decarbonise their fleet, and reduce their reliance of fossil fuels.
