The government should give middle-class drivers incentives to buy a second-hand electric car if climate targets are to be met, experts say.
Demand for used electric vehicles is falling as electricity prices have risen, and the price of used electric cars, particularly luxury models, has fallen. The average price of a used Jaguar I-pace has fallen 14.6 per cent in a year, and the Tesla Model X is down 12.1 per cent.
Cheaper models such as the Nissan Leaf have not fallen as far, by only 1.6 per cent. The price of the two-seater Smart ForTwo has fallen by 1.3 per cent.
Motoring experts say that the government is falling short on incentivising uptake, especially of used cars, as is the case in some other countries.
Marc Palmer, brand director at Auto Trader, said: “What we really need is more mainstream demand. We need middle-income households to be able to access electric cars and to be reassured electricity is OK.
“That’s the way to absorb the big volumes of stock that we are going to see come back into the market [in the next few years] and also get the government to meet its zero-emission targets.”
The government’s Office for Zero Emission Vehicles has created a working group to examine the used market, including stimulating demand.
An Auto Trader report warned that “with supply ahead of demand, the used electric vehicle market needs urgent attention to address the imbalance”.
The Green Alliance think tank has indicated that ministers could copy programmes such as France’s “social leasing” scheme which will launch this year and allow poorer people to lease an electric car for €100 a month.
In the US, a tax credit of up to $7,500 is offered to buyers of electric cars who earn less than $150,000 a year.
Demand for used electric cars has evaporated in recent months, primarily because of the fall in the cost of fuel and the rises in the cost of electricity.
Last summer, when the average price of a litre of diesel was 199.22p and petrol 191.55p, used electric cars took an average of 23 days to sell. By November that had increased to 35 days.
James Fotherby, policy adviser at the Green Alliance, said: “Accelerating the switch to electric vehicles is necessary to improve air quality, tackle climate change, and ease the cost of living for families. But unless [they] become cheaper to purchase and lease, many ordinary households won’t be able to enjoy the financial benefits of cleaner cars. To put fairness into the heart of the electric vehicle rollout, the government must prioritise fixing patchy charging infrastructure, subsidising the cost of used electric vehicles for lower-income households, and making financing simpler and cheaper.”
Experts have also said that the government must act to ensure the prices of used electric cars do not collapse as a result of oversupply, which would make leasing deals for new cars too expensive for most drivers, stalling the market.
Last year ministers pulled the plug on all electric car subsidies, saying that it would free up money to expand charging networks and support the uptake of other battery-powered vehicles. It had already scaled back the level of the grant to £1,500 for cars under £32,000.
At the time the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said the decision sent the “wrong message to motorists and to an industry which remains committed to the government’s net zero ambition”.
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January 30, 2023 at 07:01AM
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Give middle classes help to buy a used electric car, say experts - The Times
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