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The Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders (SMMT) has revised its forecast downwards for EV market share.
It said its latest 2024 outlook for the new car market estimates a total overall volume of 1.974 million units, which is a 4,000 unit increase on the October estimate.
But the BEV forecast has been reduced to a market share of 21% over the year, compared with the 22.3% anticipated in October and the 23.3% expected a year ago.
That said, in a rising market 100,000 more BEVs will still reach the road in 2024 compared with last year, totalling some 414,000 units
The problem is private buyers are giving EVs the body swerve. In January fleet and business sales grew by 41.7% while registrations by private buyers fell by -25.1%.
The SMMT said a “myriad factor” such as high energy prices, inflation and interest rates, charging anxiety and mixed messaging from government have restricted demand. It has called for a VAT reduction on EVs to be introduced.