- The British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA) has led the coordination of a joint letter to the UK’s Transport, Environmental Audit and Business Select Committees, calling on more support to ensure that the used electric car market can remain sustainable in the years to come.
- The signatories are requesting that support to access EVs, particularly for consumers and SMEs, is improved by government.
- The letter was signed by 25 other UK organisations, including EVA England, The AA, and Octopus Electric Vehicles.
Industry warns that used EV market could dry up without new measures
The UK has just recorded its best month ever for EV sales, with over 68,000 fully-electric cars sold in the month of March, but those signing this letter still have concern amongst further boosting EV adoption in the years to come.
The warning notes that the wide majority of consumers opt for a car on the second-hand market (both for BEVs and ICE vehicles). This is creating a gap between supply and demand which is set to grow in the coming years – with an estimated shortfall of 290,000 EV registrations within the next two years if current trends persist. With that in mind, these firms have called for more support for those purchasing new BEVs.
Among the measures suggested to achieve this goal include targeted grants. This already exists in some forms, with policies such as the Plug-in Van and Truck Grant, and the Plug-in Motorcycle Grant, but previous subsidies towards passenger EVs were scrapped back in 2022. Steps to take action on the declining residuals of used EVs have also been called for, such as the introduction of standardised battery health information on used EVs to inspire consumer confidence. This was a policy promised in the Labour government’s pre-election manifesto, and some dealerships have already proactively started providing this information through firms like Generational.
BVRLA Chief Executive, Toby Poston, commented:
“The used car market is nearly four times the size of the new one. Maintaining healthy demand and values for second-hand electric vehicles is essential if we want to deliver a sustained transition. A lack of government incentives or affordable public charging infrastructure means that too few used car buyers or dealers are seeing the benefit in going electric. As a result, used BEV supply is outstripping demand and prices are continuing to fall. This depreciation is costing fleets hundreds of millions and being passed on to new buyers in the form of higher motor finance costs.
To restore confidence in the net zero transition and sustain a healthy electric vehicle ecosystem, the Government needs to intervene.”
