At least 98,500 new battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) will be registered in the UK in 2020, according to figures from an EV leasing company.
This figure, which is based on DriveElectric’s own forecasts, will represent an increase from 37,850 – the number of BEVs registered in the UK in 2019 – and a 260% rise in BEV registrations in 2020 compared to 2019.
The figure does not include plug-in hybrids (PHEVs).
DriveElectric uses its own model built from its intelligence of the UK market to forecast EV registrations.
According to DriveElectric, reasons for this increase in EV numbers include:
- Changes to Benefit in Kind company car tax: there will be zero company car tax on pure electric cars from April 2020 for a period of 12 months.
- A return to company cars rather than employees taking car allowances.
- Increased availability of electric cars in 2020 compared to 2019, in part due to the new EU fleet-wide average emissions targets.
- Existing manufacturers will continue with a large market share and a high number of deliveries (approximately 25,000 units).
- A number of manufacturers are entering the market with new BEVs, for example PSA, with a predicted volume of 12,000 units.
- There is growing environmental awareness, about climate change and also about challenges with local air quality.
- Increasing numbers of initiatives such as clean air zones are resulting in organisations considering renewing their fleets with electric rather than petrol or diesel vehicles.
