Why drivers are losing interest in electric cars

In his promised review of net zero policies, Rishi Sunak has already ruled out postponing the proposed ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030. Indeed, from the end of the year manufacturers are going to be under a mandate to make sure that a certain proportion of their sales are electric – although the details have not yet been published. But what chances of the car industry actually getting there?

While sales of electric cars might seem to be healthy – the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) records that 193,221 pure electric cars were sold in the first eight months of 2023, up 40 per cent on the same period in 2022, the details tell a different story. Sales to corporate buyers are buoyant, encouraged by a favourable company car tax regime. But sales to private buyers are faltering. In the first half of the year, 37,000 private buyers bought an electric car, down from 41,800 a year earlier.