Electric rides for cooler days
Welcome to our new-look monthly newsletter with a round up of the latest from New AutoMotive in September 2024
Welcome to the September edition of our newsletter, bringing you the latest updates from New AutoMotive in a brand new format and now on Substack!
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In this edition
UK electric car sales grew again in August; poor data analysis fuels consumer scepticism about EVs; and a look at parts of the UK experiencing the fastest growth in EV ownership - all in Latest News
Will the UK introduce dynamic electricity pricing?; ZEV mandate scrutiny; and tariffs & bans on Chinese EVs - scroll down to Corridors of Power
ZEV mandate being pulled into blame game; chasing hydrogen chimeras and calls for subsidies - scroll down to Back to the Future
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Our latest publications
Talking tax: Our latest report published at the end of September, set out a comprehensive strategy for motoring taxation over the course of this Parliament. The Chancellor should exercise caution on road pricing, instead focusing on reform of Vehicle Excise Duty at the budget on October 30th. You can read the full report here.
Global EV sales growing: Our latest tranche of global car sales data was published in September, showing how BEV car sales progressed in key automotive markets representing 80% of the global car market. BEV sales grew in the year to the end of July, representing 14.9% of the global car market. While July ‘24 saw a drop in BEV sales compared with July ‘23, sales over the year remained higher. You can access the data yourself and read more here.
Lies, damned lies, and (poor) lifecycle assessments As new polling from Climate Barometer suggested that 40% of UK adults believe that EVs offer no environmental benefit over petrol/diesel cars, we reflect on how poor data and analysis leads to even worse perceptions of a technology that is crucial to achieving net zero.
17% air guitar solo?: The EU has imposed tariffs on Chinese EVs. What’s the impact and what should the UK do? We explore this in our latest blog.
UK EV sales beat targets: Sales of new electric cars grew again in August, taking 23.2% of the share of newly registered cars. That’s well above the headline 22% ZEV mandate target. You can read the full bulletin here.
S-curve or not?: Is the battery electric car like a mobile phone? Read our latest series of blogs on this perennial question here, and here.
Europe’s auto industry in 5 charts: In the latest ACEA publication, published early this month, a few things caught our eye. Read our highlights here.
New AutoMotive in the News
Global EV Tracker formed a key part of a story by Canary Media (not to be confused with The Canary), examining carmakers’ electrification pledges. EV in Focus’ latest newsletter also covered our global data, comparing UK and EU BEV sales. As did Edie, and the BBC’s Ben Chu created some fun charts using the data.
Business Green were among the first to break the news from our monthly Electric Car Count bulletin about UK car sales in September, reporting that car sales came in at well above the headline ZEV mandate target of 22%. Our data and commentary also featured in GB News, JustAuto, The Birmingham Mail, Motor Finance Online, a fantastic in-depth Daily Mail piece looking at ZEV mandate performance.
The Telegraph reported car industry calls for additional fiscal incentives and subsidies for EVs in the forthcoming budget, including our caution that any of these measures would risk a distorting effect on the market and be hard to unwind later down the line (see Back to the Future ).
The Guardian covered one of our pet topics, about electric vehicle conversions, in which Jasper Jolly got to drive a newly converted London taxi.
The Times printed our CEO’s response when Virtu pointed the finger at the ZEV mandate after reporting lacklustre earnings (see Back to the Future).
Coverage of our new report on motoring taxation was just starting to appear as this newsletter went to ‘send’, and first out of the blocks was Green Fleet, Automotive Management, and Fleet News.
A roundup from Westminster and beyond
Return of the REMA: Will the new Labour government reform the way electricity is priced in the UK? The Prime Minister dropped a fairly big hint at PMQs on 4th September that this was a problem the government is “determined to fix”. At a fringe event at Labour Party conference in Liverpool, Energy Minister Miatta Fahnbulleh confirmed that the government would be taking forward the previous government’s Review of Electricity Market Arrangements (REMA) programme, which looked at issues such as allowing locational pricing, dynamic pricing, and breaking the link between electricity and natural gas prices. Good news for EV drivers, if this is progressed.
ZEV mandate under scrutiny: Not one government Minister mentioned electric vehicles in their conference speech. Should we interpret this as simple lack of interest? The new team in the Department for Transport could quite understandably have been occupied with railways, which account for some of the stickiest and expensive issues the new government has inherited. But apparently the ZEV mandate is under consideration by Transport Secretary Louise Haigh, as was confirmed by her cabinet colleague Jonathan Reynolds in the Commons on 5th September. In response to a question from Luton MP Rachel Hopkins (Lab), Reynolds told MPs that he has had “extensive engagement with Carlos Tevares and the Stellantis team” and that “not only am I closely engaged on this issue, as are my ministerial team, but so is the Secretary of State for Transport, particularly in relation to the Zero Emissions Vehicle Mandate”.
Trading blows: New shadow transport minister Greg Smith (Con) challenged the new Minister for Decarbonisation and Industry over the new government’s approach to tariffs on Chinese EVs in the Commons in September. “What’s it to be”, he demanded of Labour’s Sarah Jones, “clear action on behalf the UK automotive sector, or continued dither and failing to make a decision?” The exchanges came after the EU imposed tariffs on EVs manufactured in China earlier this year. The bemused Minister pointed out that the UK car industry is not calling for tariffs. So what could explain the Smith’s apparent concern for the fortunes of UK carmakers? Perhaps his voting record contains the answer. In December 2023 he was one of the 27 Conservative MPs that rebelled against their government’s decision to introduce the Zero Emissions Vehicle mandate.
Where Washington goes, Brussels follows: Following the announcement that US authorities are considering a ban on Chinese connected vehicles over security concerns, now the European Commission is looking at whether the technology could be misused, as Margrethe Vestager told Politico. This will be one to watch - tariffs are one thing, but bans will mean a domestic supply of electric vehicles in Europe and America becomes necessary to prevent emissions reductions stalling.
Ministers go electric: Anyone who has done stop-start city traffic in an EV will know it’s a much more relaxing experience than a revving petrol or diesel engine. So will the Keir Starmer be showing up to PMQs much more relaxed than usual? The Government Car Service (GCS), which supplies cars for Ministers, now has more battery electric cars than petrol or diesel cars, according to an answer to a written question from Lord Young of Cookham (Con). Transport Minister Lord Hendy confirmed that the GCS now operates 36 fully electric cars, compared with just 20 petrol or diesel vehicles. But the biggest portion of their fleet is made up of 51 hybrid cars.
Our pick of the best automotive industry stories
You got a friend in me: Peugeot’s new UK managing director Eurig Druce was bullish about his company’s ability to hit EV targets under the ZEV mandate this month. Taken separately from its parent Stellantis, we estimate that Peugeot remains a little behind its target in the year to the end of August. Does that mean September’s new registrations data hold big news for Peugeot’s EV sales?
Blaming the shift: Leading UK motor retailer Vertu saw its share price tumble 3% in early September after it revised down its profits for the first half of the year. Their CEO was quick to point the finger at the UK’s flagship EV policy, the ZEV mandate, which, it claimed, is forcing retailers to sell electric cars that people “don’t want”. Might it also be this policy that is the reason the UK car market continues to wallow in growth of well over 5% this year, outpacing both GDP and overall consumer spending growth? Our response to the suggestion that government targets are to blame for Vertu’s woes was published in The Times.
Please, sir…: Motoring groups are lobbying for Chancellor Rachel Reeves to offer a tax break or subsidy for electric vehicle buyers who are deterred by the higher costs associated with going electric, according to The Telegraph. EVs bought through a salary sacrifice scheme are eligible for an income tax break that adds up to a little more than Dickensian gruel. It is big enough to make some EVs as much as £100 cheaper per month than an equivalent petrol car for basic rate taxpayers, and has led to soaring demand for electric cars bought in this way. Further subsidies are not only unlikely from Britain’s cash-strapped Treasury but, as we warned, they would risk market distorting effects and store up problems for the future. Read the full article here. (P.S. Could the Chancellor look at ways to claw back some of this tax break from higher rate taxpayers in the forthcoming budget? Changes to pension tax relief might not be the only way to bump up income tax receipts without adjusting the main rates…)
Have a great October!
Team New AutoMotive
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