- The UK’s leading online car marketplace, Auto Trader, has registered a significant rise in searches and views for new electric vehicles, particularly those priced below £37,000, following the announcement of the Electric Car Grant (ECG) on Monday night.
- According to data published by Auto Trader, the share of enquiries for new EVs priced below £37,000 doubled on the day following the announcement – up from 15%, to 29% of all enquiries.
- The results show a clear rising interest from consumers following the grant’s announcement, but with manufacturers still uncertain if their cars will meet the various criteria, will it lead to increased EV sales?
Auto Trader marks rise in enquiries for new EVs priced below £37,000
The particular rise in searches for new EVs priced below £37,000 is crucial, as that’s the maximum recommended retail price that new EVs can have to have a chance of eligibility for the grant, alongside the various other technical and environmental criteria. The announcement created a more general increase in EV interest too, including those searching without a price filter – with all new electric cars accounting for 25% of enquiries on the 15th of July, compared to 15% on the day before.
Despite the clear increased interest for brand-new EVs priced at or below £37,000, simply meeting this price point isn’t enough for a car to become eligible. As the government guidelines make clear, manufacturers will need to apply for their cars to join the scheme, with a number of requirements beyond just price: including long-term battery health, warranty periods, and production-related emissions, just to name a few.
Over the next few weeks, we should start seeing confirmations from manufacturers of which of their models will be eligible for the ECG, following this initial interest from Auto Trader’s site visitors.
Ian Plummer, Commercial Director at Auto Trader, commented:
“Following the announcement of the Electric Car Grant, the share of electric enquiries for new cars priced £37,000 and under doubled in a day on Autotrader, the first time in months that demand has outstripped supply. As it becomes clearer which cars are eligible and manufacturers rethink their pricing strategies to gain eligibility for the grant, we’ll likely see sustained interest in this part of the market.”
