How many electric cars were sold in October 2024

October 2024 - How many electric cars have been sold this month?

Politics and economics are a hot topic at the moment and not just in the UK. Only yesterday (6 November 2024) Donald Trump became President elect of the USA, which is likely to impact the shift towards EV’s, having already noted that US carmakers are struggling to match the demand to their intended supply.

In the UK, much was talked about by the Labour Government who were elected on a manifesto of a pro-EV ethos but, to date, have done little to really push this agenda. As we will be addressing in further blogs, the recent budgets have made little to no change to the UK’s frameworks.

The whole EV debate is a complicated one, with this impacting more than just our cars; it will influence vans, trains, boats and beyond! This is without considering aspects like charging and energy creation / storage. Whether or not Trump’s US policy, which may include the removal of their Tax Credit, impacts us in the UK is yet to be seen. A period of activity in this sector is more than likely in light of the recent news.

But how did October 24’ work out?

With the impending Labour Budget, there was a great deal of uncertainty and concern, especially for smaller businesses, which is why some were perturbed about car sales. This is even more significant for EVs, where many of the sales / leasing agreements are operated via businesses and fleet transactions (around 70% in the case of e-car lease).

But the reality is that the manufacturers who want to sell their vehicles in the UK must adhere to the ZEV Mandate, a set of rules which determine the percentage (%) of zero-emission registrations. Every year, until 2035, a certain element of the sold units must be battery vehicles (or a suitable alternative like hydrogen).

The big push will be to 2030, which dictates that 80% of the vehicles sold must be zero-emission. While Labour did suggest that they would be revising the expectations, this has not happened and the Conservative timeline of 2035 remains intact.

But are EVs really working?

As the recent SMMT stats set out, there has been some impact on the UK car market in light of the economic and political pressures. The key takeaways are:

•  The new car registrations fell 6% in October, with 144,00 vehicles registered compared to the 153,000 of last year;
• The UK car market has registered some 1.65m new vehicles compared to the 1.60m at the same time in 2023;

•  October saw 29,802 BEVs registered, which now represents a 20% market share (compared to combustion options) and this is a 24.5% increase on last year’s 23,943 units;
•  Just under 300,000 EVs have been registered so far in 2024

The summary from SMMT is simple; EVs are very much in the ascendancy and are working towards the ZEV Mandate threshold (albeit a little out) But this is amidst a difficult October which fell short by around £350 million. With next year pushing manufacturers to achieve a 28% BEV threshold within their product makeup, there is clearly pressure on the UK market moving forwards.

The good news is that more exciting, and thrilling, electric vehicles are making their way to the UK market. Only this week we confirmed the launch of the Abarth 600e  a performance alternative to the Fiat 600e. This compact SUV is a bigger option to the Fiat 500, a small city-car, which has been incredibly popular in the UK.

However, many families are now demanding more SUV and crossover style cars, with practicality, technology and cost-effectiveness high on the agenda. With the ZEV mandate pressuring the vehicle manufacturers with each coming year, there needs to be a robust EV in every segment.

Sports and performance EVs are part of our offering. While the Porsche Taycan and Maserati Grancabrio are examples of this, they are perhaps not the affordable performance EV for the people! But options like the MG Cyberster, Hyundai Ioniq 5 N and MG4 xPower are existing vehicles in the leasing industry.

However, the upcoming Abarth EV will be another option to add to the list, with this Italian SUV set to offer customers “the most powerful Abarth ever”. Born on the track, but enhanced for the road, the Scorpion will be looking to win the hearts and minds of the general public who would ordinarily jump into a petrol. Build your preferred specification at the Abarth website.  

How does the new 600e Abarth perform – is it really a performance EV?

•  Turismo – this has a usable battery of 50.8 kWh which offers 175 kW (235hp), top speeds of 124 mph and 0-62 times of 6.2 seconds. Real-world ranges suggest a combined 145 miles in colder weather with warmer temperatures to allow for 195 miles (on a full charge) - combined overall at 170 miles. The 11kW AC allows for 0-100% charging times of 5 hour and 30 minutes with the 100 kW DC enabling 10-80% in 28 minutes. It has a 135 mpg equivalent, 360L cargo volume but no towing capacity has been announced (Braked and Unbraked). There is no heat pump on this EV. Bidirectional charging has not been confirmed; and 

•  Scorpionissima – this has a usable battery of 50.8 kWh which offers 207 kW (278hp), top speeds of 124 mph and 0-62 times of 5.9 seconds. Real-world ranges suggest a combined 145 miles in colder weather with warmer temperatures to allow for 195 miles (on a full charge) - combined overall at 170 miles. The 11kW AC allows for 0-100% charging times of 5 hour and 30 minutes with the 100 kW DC enabling 10-80% in 28 minutes. It has a 135 mpg equivalent, 360L cargo volume but no towing capacity has been announced (Braked and Unbraked). There is no heat pump on this EV. Bidirectional charging has not been confirmed.

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