SMMT urges ‘fair tax for a fair transition’ for EV market growth

A new SMMT survey has found that last September’s decision to delay the UK’s end of sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans from 2030 to 2035 has led to almost one in four drivers delaying their plans to transition to an EV, while one in seven say won’t make the switch at all.

Whilst the actual number of EVs on UK roads are rising, the SMMT said the rate of growth has slowed and EV market share has stabilised.

According to the researchers, growth in the market is being sustained by fleets and businesses, which benefit from compelling tax incentives. Private retail uptake, however, has been in decline since 2022, with these buyers now accounting for fewer than one in four new EV registrations, compared with one in three previously.

When the survey was conducted before the governments delay announcement, only 11 per cent of survey respondents interested in driving electric said they would wait until after 2030. That has now risen to almost half (46 per cent).