Deloitte comments on new SMMT car reg figures for May 2024

Jamie Hamilton, automotive partner and head of electric vehicles at Deloitte said: “While car purchases continue to increase, most of the growth has been driven by fleets, with private consumer sales in decline despite manufacturers offering discounts to help stimulate demand. 

“The overall market share of electric vehicles is also well below the required 22%, as set out in the zero-emission vehicle mandate. Consumers may have been put off by high interest rates and a squeeze on their spending power due to the cost of living. 

 “There needs to be more focus on removing the main barriers preventing the average consumer from contemplating a switch to electric. Currently, electric vehicles don’t appear to make sense for consumers, unless they can charge their cars at home overnight. As a result, there does need to be a push on creating more publicly available charging stations. 

“A raft of new low-cost options in the electric vehicle market are expected to land this year which may tempt consumers to make the transition to electric.”