UK remains in slow lane for electronic vehicle transition

Consumer adoption of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) in the UK is stagnating, according to new research from BearingPoint. With high prices, a perceived lack of incentivisation, and a shortage of charging points hampering public appetite for these vehicles, the researchers warn it could jeopardise the country’s ability to meet its zero emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate targets. 

The UK remains a primarily internal combustion engine (ICE) marketplace – and government commitment to shifting this seems to be wavering. While a proposed ban on new ICE vehicles was re-instated by the incumbent administration after the 2024 election, that has now shifted to a ‘transition’, where new hybrids will still be allowed to be sold until 2035. Pure-fossil fuel cars will still be ruled out after 2030, according to the rules, along with ‘mild hybrids’, but the tone of certainty around that also seems to be evaporating.

As a result, despite the noise around the BEV transition across the automotive ecosystem, the UK lags behind other markets in EV adoption. The market share of BEVs have been bouncing around month-to-month in the low twenties against other drivetrains.

Examining the driving forces which could shift things, a BearingPoint study found that at present, just 17% of UK respondents said that they had ever driven an electric car. While that is set to rise, BearingPoint’s survey showed UK consumers rank near the bottom of countries in consumer sentiment that their next vehicle will be electric, with only 24% flagging intent to buy an EV. A rise from 17% to 24% would be a significantly slower increase than the majority of other nations.

China is an outlier already, 68% of drivers having used an EV already, that will rise to 73% as indicated by the next car Chinese consumers purchase. While pro-EV sentiment is much more muted elsewhere, the only market as opposed to their purchase as the UK is the US – with 50% saying they would not buy an EV as their next vehicle in both countries. In contrast, in Italy, 44% of respondents expressed the same sentiment, and in France, the figure stands at just 32%.

Stalling progress

Across these countries, three key drivers for the UK stuck out both in the wider study data. Experience, infrastructure and the cost of ownership are all holding back EV uptake, according to the experts. Leading on from the fact only 17% of UK consumers have actually driven an EV, fear of the unknown is a major problem here; as BearingPoint suggests that UK buyers are “value-driven and pragmatic”. Experiences they are familiar with mean ICE vehicles are still favoured then – with only 7% of UK respondents saying a ”commitment to innovation” was their reason for buying an EV, markedly lower than the other markets, who all sit between 12% and 17%.

Of course, there are still ways in which automotive companies and the government can get around this. Primarily, that will need to be pricing levers. Currently, those who would not buy an EV in the UK say the expense of buying one is the leading problem – at close to 40%. China, where uptake remains highest, sees that same concern only shared by one-tenth of non-EV drivers. At the same time, tax incentives were cited by more than one-tenth of Chinese EV drivers as reasons they purchased their vehicle, while that number fell to below 5% in the UK – the lowest of any country examined by BearingPoint.

Meanwhile insufficient charging options remains a problem across all markets, meanwhile, the UK was still second highest; only behind the US again. With infamously lacklustre roll-outs of charging stations in the UK – despite great fanfare around their initial design – more than 20% of consumers who have not bought an EV said this was a leading reason, and remain acutely aware that little has been done to change the situation.

To prevent the transition away from ICE vehicles stalling, BearingPoint recommended three changes for the UK to keep pace with leaders like China. Manufacturers and retailers need to “encourage customers to get in the seat of an EV when making their next purchase decision”, as familiarity counts for a lot in the UK. Meanwhile, financiers must “continue to innovate to provide affordable monthly payments”. And finally, government and infrastructure providers need to focus on “connecting underserved communities in time for lower cost EVs”.