Leaseplan: EV growth encouraging, but UK contribution small

Commenting on Deloitte’s recent research suggesting strong growth in the electric vehicle market, Steve Jones, Strategy and Transformation Director at LeasePlan UK, said: “Although this new report is extremely promising, the UK’s contribution to this global number is likely to be minimal.

“Whilst the UK has been making progress in its electric vehicle strategy, it unfortunately lacks the momentum countries like Norway and the Netherlands have. In fact, our recent research has shown the UK is lacking in its EV preparations, having dropped from fifth to seventh in this year’s EV Readiness Index.

“If we hope to keep up with the rest of Europe, then urgent action needs to be taken to speed up the rollout of charging infrastructure, increase Government tax incentives as well as boost the number of EV models available. Without improvement on all three of these elements, the UK will continue to slip further down the rankings.

“Given how quickly the nature of mobility is changing, more regular and short-term reviews are necessary to ensure the UK’s strategy is aligned to how consumers and businesses are utilising transport services. The Road to Zero strategy is a good starting point, but as a nation we need to be bolder in our plans to reduce carbon emissions and prepare for the future of transport.”

Compared to last year, all 22 countries in the LeasePlan EV Readiness Index 2019 have shown an improvement in EV readiness, mainly due to a greater availability of new EV models with longer ranges and improved charging infrastructure.

Finland (+7 places), Germany (+4) and Portugal (+4) improved their ranking significantly, as a result of better charging infrastructure, a higher percentage of EV registrations and more attractive government incentives.

EV market share is now in the mid-single digits in the UK (2.4%), the Netherlands (5.1%), Finland (5.2%) and Sweden (7.6%), while Norway remains the undisputed leader with EVs accounting for 53% of all newly registered vehicles.

The Netherlands has the most public charging plugs available (83,196), followed by Germany (37,405) and France (34,558). When adjusted for population size, the top three countries are now the Netherlands (4.8 charging plugs per 1,000 inhabitants), Norway (4.5) and Luxembourg (1.9). In comparison, the UK only has 0.27 charging plugs per 1,000 inhabitants. cja