The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) reports that, during Q4 2022, the ratio of new electric vehicle (EV) chargepoint installations to new electric or plug-in car registrations dropped to one for every 62.
This is a significant decline compared with Q4 last year, when the ratio was 1:42.4. SMMT figures show that, as a result, in 2022, only one publicly-available chargepoint was installed for every 53 new plug-in cars registered, marking the lowest ratio since 2020.
It also reports that the UK new car market grew 14.7% in January 2023 and reached 131,994 units, the best start to the year since January 2020, with EVs driving this increasing as manufacturers continue to bring ever more choice to the market, in spite of supply chain difficulties.
SMMT’s data showed that hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) comprised 14.4% of new car registrations, increasing volumes by 40.6%.
Meanwhile, battery electric vehicle (BEV) registrations grew by 19.8% to reach 17,294 units, or 13.1% of new registrations, which is slightly less than the average recorded for 2022.
What’s more, plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) recorded a 0.7% rise, meaning one in five new cars registered in January 2023 were plug-ins.
Mike Hawes, chief executive of SMMT, said: “The automotive industry is already delivering growth that bucks the national trend and is poised, with the right framework, to accelerate the decarbonisation of the UK economy.
“The industry and market are in transition, but fragile due to a challenging economic outlook, rising living costs and consumer anxiety over new technology.
“We look to a budget that will reaffirm the commitment to net zero and provide measures that drive green growth for the sector and the nation.
“The strong start to the year is mirrored in the latest market outlook, which anticipates 1.79 million new car registrations in 2023, an 11.1% increase on the past year but still well below 2019 levels.
“This also represents a -0.8% reduction on October’s outlook, against a weak economic backdrop.
“However, a further 9.3% increase is expected next year, with 1.96 million new cars expected to join the road in 2024.”
According to SMMT, plug-ins are expected to comprise of more than one in four new registrations in 2023, representing growth of 32.1% or about 487,140 units and almost a third (31.0%) of the market at 607,150 units in 2024.
However, company also claims that the rollout of charging infrastructure needed to charge them is failing to keep pace.
