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NOVEMBER 2021 AFTERMARKET 61 www.aftermarketonline.net snowball and ultimately pleas from key figures in government to urge people not to panic buy will likely have the opposite effect.” While the desire for EVs is there, the infrastructure to support a major shift may not be, as Chris observed: “With almost 20% saying this crisis would make it more likely they make the switch to electric vehicles for their next car, it’s scandalous that an opportunity of this size to help reduce emissions will not be able to be taken as a result of the distinct lack of infrastructure for millions of motorists around the country.” He added: “The fact of the matter still stands that, if you don’t have private off-street parking, an electric vehicle simply isn’t attainable and decision makers from all parties across the country are seemingly blissfully ignorant of that fact.” UK EV sales six times higher than global average UK EV sales were six times higher than the global average in 2020, putting Britain in fourth place out of 26 countries worldwide, according to a study by international accountancy network UHY. As Aftermarket reported in its February issue, 108,205 EVs were sold in the UK in 2020 according to the full year sales figures from the SMMT. This represented a 185.9% increase on 2019. This was also six times higher than the 31% average sales growth of electric cars seen globally. The UK was just behind Germany which saw EV sales up 207% from 63,000 to 194,000 in 2020. Worldwide growth in sales of electric cars has outpaced global car sales, including petrol and diesel, which fell by around 15% to 64 million in 2020, down from 75 million in 2019. While growth is widespread, 19% of countries in UHY’s study saw sales of electric cars fall during 2020. Japan saw EV sales drop by 31%, while sales in Canada were down 20%. Commenting on the findings, David Kendrick, Partner at UHY Hacker Young, UHY’s member firm in the UK, said: “It is encouraging to see such a high growth rate in electric car sales in the UK. It is one of the top performers, far ahead of other major economies such as the US. However, petrol and diesel cars still dominate the UK’s automotive market, meaning electric car sales must grow much faster if we’re going to meet our ambitious targets.” To capitalise on the growth in sales, greater investment in infrastructure to support EVs will be crucial. David observed: “In order to facilitate this growth, a commitment to creating a vast amount of charging points over the next few years will be critical. It will also be reliant on the National Grid being able to provide enough energy to fuel this transition to electric cars and the extra demand this will create.” The UK has pledged to end the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030 and hybrids from 2035, and although the government has provided nearly £1.3bn in incentives for ultra-low emission vehicles since 2011, there have been cuts. Previously, a grant of £5,000 was available and there was no cap on the price of the vehicle purchased. Since earlier this year grants only cover up to £2,500, with the purchase price limited to £35,000. There is also a grant for electric charging points which funds 75%, up to £350, of the installation costs of charging points at domestic properties in the UK. David added: “The government needs to think about boosting EV incentives rather than reducing them. Unfortunately, the decision to slash grants for electric cars will have put them further out of reach for some people. However, it’s not too late for more benefits to be introduced.” Committee aims to address kerbside charging “stumbling block” The issue of accessible kerbside charging for EVs is being taken up by a new committee formed by an organisation for vehicle fleets, where this is seen as the “last stumbling block” holding back mass adoption. Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP) Chairman Paul Hollick commented. “Adequate kerbside charging is vital to the corporate fleet sector being able to achieve its 2030 electrification objectives, but many are hitting significant problems with those employees that do not have a home charging solution. This is especially the case for people who live in terraced streets or apartments.” Initial members of the group representatives from Capita, Virgin Media SSE, ISS, Kier, OpenReach, Clarion Response, Centrica, and more. Paul continued: “The government has a programme in place where funds are made available for chargers to be installed but it depends on local authorities, many of which are starved of finances, also contributing. In our opinion, it is inadequate for the task at hand. Together, businesses are operating thousands of EVs and many are finding that more than half of their drivers really need kerbside charging, especially those that are adopting electric vans, whose drivers are proving less likely to have their own driveway. At the moment, it’s not an exaggeration to say that they are muddling through with a mixture of depot-based charging and use of high-speed public facilities. However, both of these bring sizeable operational compromises, either needing vehicles to return to base or taking time out of the working day for charging.” He concluded: “To us, solving this problem is really the last stumbling block to EV adoption for fleets and making rapid progress in this area is absolutely essential. We are very much looking to create effective momentum very rapidly.” The government needs to think about boosting EV incentives rather than reducing them ”