Sales of electric vehicles are lagging behind the government’s zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate for the year, prompting calls for more incentives to boost demand.
Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) data on Monday showed 16.8% of cars sold in the UK so far this year were battery electric vehicles, behind the government-set target of 22%.
This comes after 18.5% of the 147,517 new car registrations in July were battery-electric vehicles, with the overall market growing 2.5%.
“With zero emission vehicles mandated [...] the pace of transition needs to increase significantly,” SMMT warned in a statement, adding electric cars were now expected to make up 18.5% of new sales this year, against 19.8% previously.
“The latest industry outlook, however, suggests that such a surge is looking increasingly unlikely given the current market conditions.”
Manufacturers have had to ensure a proportion of their annual sales are made up of zero-emission vehicles, such as battery electrics, since January this year, with fines set for those that miss these.
This mandate was announced last year to replace the UK’s previous target to phase out new petrol and diesel sales by 2030, with 100% zero emission sales now required by 2035.
Given sluggish demand, SMMT boss Mike Hawes argued government action on incentives and infrastructure was “needed now”.
“More people than ever are buying and driving electric vehicles but we still need the pace of change to quicken,” he added.
Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) was among companies to previously warn it could pull sales from the UK in order to avoid fines, adding at the time that this could lead to higher prices.
Close Brothers director Lisa Watson added on Monday that the industry would now be “looking to the new government” in the UK to do more to encourage electric car sales as demand falters against targets.
“[This] will be key to ensuring the ZEV mandate is achievable,” she said.