New electric car interest drops two thirds on UK’s biggest car sales website

Published

2 years ago

April 20, 2023

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Interest in new electric vehicles may be declining, data from the UK’s largest car sales website suggests.

The volume of new electric car searches, ad views and messages to retailers on the Auto Trader platform was down nearly two thirds (65%) from the beginning of last year to March this year.

Auto Trader has attributed this to the high cost of electric cars, higher borrowing rates and more expensive electricity, all amid a cost of living crisis.

The company called on the government to introduce tax incentives to improve affordability.

In January 2022, electric vehicles (EVs) made up 16.3% of new car ad views on the website but by March 2023 it had fallen to 10.54%, Auto Trader said.

While 27% of all new car enquiries related to EVs in the first month of last year, the number dropped to 9% for last month.

Disinterest may be growing as the company said new EVs are 37% more expensive than petrol and diesel cars and there are now fewer new electric models between £20,000 and £30,000 than there were in 2022.

The number of petrol and diesel models costing less than £30,000 is nine times bigger than the number of EVs, Auto Trader said, and a new electric SUV costs an average of £22,290 more than a petrol one.

Analysis by the company suggests that the savings drivers can make in running an electric car, as opposed to a diesel or petrol car, have reduced as the cost of oil has come down from the highs after the invasion of Ukraine.

While EV owners with a home charger can save up to £130 for every 1,000 miles by charging at off-peak overnight rates, savings reduce to just £40 for those drivers using public chargers, the analysis says.

Auto Trader noted there was still strong interest in second-hand EVs and in fleet sales, where a company would buy cars for employee use or for renting.

EV sales have broadly increased in recent years as the government’s 2030 ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars approaches.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) reported 76,233 new battery electric car sales in the first quarter of this year, up 18.8% on last year’s levels.

To increase the interest in and buying of EVs, Auto Trader called on the government to reduce VAT on used EVs and said lenders should offer lower or interest-free rates on EV financing deals.

Adopting common standards on battery health and charging terminology should also be a top priority for government and industry as Auto Trader said battery health is one of the top concerns purchasers have when buying an EV.

“These are difficult times for the UK’s road to 2030 ambitions and we are in danger of veering off-track,” Auto Trader’s commercial director said.

“If the government is serious about achieving its ambitions, it needs to do more. For example, it cannot be right that those who don’t have the option of charging at home are forced to pay substantially more to charge their vehicles,” Ian Plummer added.

“While the extra £380m announced in March to improve charging infrastructure will help, the goal of mass adoption is at risk unless we use the tax system inventively to spur on EV purchases and accelerate demand.”

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Post Office Horizon Scandal: Four suspects identified by police

Published

3 hours ago

November 18, 2024

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Post Office Horizon Scandal: Four suspects identified by police

Four suspects have so far been identified by police investigating possible criminal charges in the Post Office scandal, Sky News has learned.

Sources have said that among the offences being considered are perverting the course of justice and perjury.

Hundreds of sub-postmasters were wrongly prosecuted for stealing from their branches between 1999 and 2015 after faulty Horizon software caused accounting errors.

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The Metropolitan Police is a so-called core participant in the Post Office public inquiry and has been monitoring and assessing material submitted.

It is expected that the number of suspects being investigated by police could rise in the next six to 12 months.

More than a million documents are believed to be being sifted through and the number of police officers investigating the scandal has also risen from 80 to 100, with work across every single police force.

It is not expected, however, that any charges will be brought before 2027/28, and that time frame could be extended.

A Sky News source said the number of suspects was seemingly “just a starting point”.

A meeting took place this weekend between more than 150 sub-postmasters, including Sir Alan Bates, and the Metropolitan Police.

Sir Alan said he had been told by officers that “it was going to take a few years” and that there are “no restrictions on how high investigations will take them”.

He also said the priority for sub-postmasters was financial redress and then, after that, victims will be “looking for people to be held to account”.

A Metropolitan police spokesperson said: “Yesterday [17 November] we met with Alan Bates and some of the affected sub-postmasters to provide a brief on our progress and next steps.

“Our investigation team, comprising around 100 officers from forces across the UK, is now in place and we will be sharing further details in due course.

“Initially four suspects have been identified and we anticipate this number to grow as the investigation progresses.”

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Energy bills to rise again from January but spring falls to come, research firm Cornwall Insight forecasts

Published

10 hours ago

November 18, 2024

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Energy bills to rise again from January but spring falls to come, research firm Cornwall Insight forecasts

Energy bills are to rise again next year, according to a respected forecaster.

Costs from January to March are projected to rise another 1% to £1,736 a year for the average user, according to research firm Cornwall Insight.

The energy price cap, which sets a limit on how much companies can charge per unit of electricity, is also expected to rise, costing typical households an extra £19 a year.

It’s a further increase after energy costs rose 10% from October.

After the latest hike, there were hopes of a fall in the new year, but volatile wholesale gas and electricity markets are still above historic average costs.

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Prices have gone up due to supply concerns arising from Russia‘s war in Ukraine, and maintenance of Norwegian gas infrastructure.

But spring is expected to herald a reduction as is October 2025, Cornwall Insight said.

Every three months energy regulator Ofgem revises the cap based on wholesale costs.

The official January price cap announcement will be made on Friday.

It comes as millions of pensioners lost their automatic winter fuel allowance payment after the government means-tested the benefit.

Meanwhile, Cornwall Insight’s principal consultant Dr Craig Lowrey warned “millions” of households won’t heat their homes to “recommended temperatures, risking serious health consequences” with bills on the rise.

“With it being widely accepted that high prices are here to stay, we need to see action,” he said, suggesting options like cheaper rates for low-income homes, benefit restructuring, or other targeted support for the vulnerable “must be seriously considered”.

The energy price cap system is being reviewed by Ofgem with possible changes to the standing charge coming over the next year.

The long-lasting solution to high energy bills is the transition to UK-produced renewable power, the firm said.

“While there will be upfront costs, this shift is essential to building a sustainable and secure energy system for the future.”

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Grangemouth oil refinery owners reject US-led approach as closure looms

Published

11 hours ago

November 18, 2024

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Grangemouth oil refinery owners reject US-led approach as closure looms

The owners of Scotland’s only oil refinery have rejected a US-led approach about a possible bid for it months before its scheduled closure.

Sky News has learnt that a consortium said to be led by Robert McKee, an American energy industry veteran, wrote to Petroineos, the owner of the Grangemouth site, to express an interest in buying it.

The approach, which is understood to have been made earlier this month, was rejected by Petroineos, which is 50%-owned by the petrochemicals empire founded by the Manchester United FC shareholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe.

The consortium is understood to comprise The Canal Group, which is reportedly developing a green energy refinery in Texas, and Trading Stack, a Middle East-based commodities trader.

Mr McKee spent nearly four decades with ConocoPhillips, one of the biggest energy companies in the US.

Sources close to the situation said that Petroineos had rebuffed the offer in order to concentrate on a publicly announced plan to transform the century-old plant into a finished fuels import terminal.

They added that the nature of the consortium’s approach had raised questions about its access to financing and expertise in operating an asset of this kind.

The Grangemouth refinery, which employs about 450 people, loses about £200m annually.

Its other shareholder is the state-backed Chinese energy giant PetroChina.

The site is due to close next year.

A person close to the consortium insisted that its financing was robust and said it would assess the feasibility of building a new refinery elsewhere in the area.

They added that the consortium had had “positive interactions” with trade union officials, and believed that there was scope to rapidly make Grangemouth’s refinery operations profitable.

On Monday, a spokesman for Petroineos said: “Since the Petroineos joint venture was formed 13 years ago, our shareholders have invested nearly £1bn in the refinery, only to absorb losses of £600m.

“Last week, the refinery lost £385,000 on average each day and we expect to lose more than £150m in total during the course of this year.

“We have not received any credible or viable bids for the refinery.”

A spokesman for the consortium declined to comment.