Electric vehicle sales set to soar in 2020

 

Electric cars were the stars of 2019. As sales of new cars fell by around 2.3 per cent, affected by uncertainty around Brexit, slower than anticipated economic growth and weak consumer confidence, sales of electric vehicles actually increased by 144 per cent.

 

Will 2020 be the Year of the Electric Car?

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) predicts that new car sales will drop once again this year, albeit by a smaller percentage, but the industry is shaping up to deliver a record year for pure electric car sales.

 

Consumers now have 19 different battery electric plug-in cars to choose from if they’re looking to trade in their petrol or diesel vehicle. And that selection will continue to improve over the next 12 months as even more electric cars will launch including the Honda E, Vauxhall Corsa-e, Volkswagen ID3 and Volvo XC40 P8 Recharge.

 

2020 marks a turning point not only in vehicle choice but also in budget options. There is now an electric car to suit every pocket. Smart cars with a range of 70 miles can be snapped up for less than £20,000 and for something that goes a little further – over 300 miles on a single charge – there’s the Tesla Model S Long Range from £81,000.

 

Take advantage of the UK Plug-in Car Grant (PiCG)

“Our advice to anyone considering purchasing an electric vehicle is to take advantage of the UK Plug-in Car Grant (PiCG),” explains Andy Coulton, managing director of Prosol UK.

 

“Vehicles that have CO2 emissions of less than 50g/km and can travel at least 70 miles without any emissions at all such as the Audi e-tron, Jaguar I-PACE, Nissan Leaf and Porsche Taycan are all covered by the PiCG. Buyers can apply for a grant that will pay 35% of the purchase price of these cars up to a maximum of £3500. You’ll need to hurry though as this current grant will expire in March.

 

“We anticipate that the Government and the car industry will offer new incentives in time but, at present, we don’t know when they will be available. New incentives are key drivers to the continued take up of electric cars so we’re all waiting patiently for any announcement on the subject. Watch this space!”