By Paul Homewood
https://www.smmt.co.uk/vehicle-data/car-registrations/
The SMMT has now published annual data for new car registrations in the UK.
The figures continue the declining trend begun in 2017, though registrations are still higher than in 2013.
Registrations of of diesels have plummeted by 29.6%, but are up for both petrol and AFVs. There is little difference in trends between private and fleet.
Mixed signals from government about future policy towards diesel have definitely had a major impact on sales, and are causing real damage to the industry.
However, there is no sign of EVs picking up the slack. Plug in sales (incl plug in hybrids) continue to be largely irrelevant within the overall scene, making up just 2.6% of overall sales. Excluding plug in hybrids, the figure is even worse, at 0.7%.
Government policy is focussed on Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs), to achieve its objective of zero emissions, a strategy also endorsed by the BEIS Select Committee. Non plug in hybrids, and indeed most plug in hybrids, while having the potential to cut fuel usage, will not meet that objective.
It is hard to see sales of BEVs increasing much in the next few years, given that they have only gone up by 1877 in the past year. At that rate we will still only be up to 36000 by 2030, just double the current pitiful level.
More importantly, it is hard to see what will change in the next decade to influence drivers' attitudes when buying. The intractable problems of lack of a proper charging infrastructure, range and lack of off street parking are still likely to be around in ten years time.
Even with generous taxpayer funded subsidies for the purchase and running of EVs, it is apparent that only a few nerds actually want to buy them.
I see nothing coming along in the foreseeable future that will fundamentally alter drivers' buying habits, short of some form of government compulsion.
from Climate Change Skeptic Blogs via hj on Inoreader http://bit.ly/2FnHON6
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