Drivers risk missing out on £9bn of electric car savings, says new report

Drivers on lower incomes will pay more to continue running petrol cars if there are not enough used electric cars, new analysis warns

UK motorists could miss out on £9 billion of savings unless the Government does more to encourage the uptake of electric vehicles, a new report warns (John Walton/PA) (PA Archive)

UK motorists could miss out on £9 billion of savings unless the Government does more to encourage the uptake of electric vehicles (EVs), a new report warns.

A slower roll-out of new EVs would reduce the size of the second-hand market, leaving drivers on lower incomes paying more to continue running petrol cars, the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) said.

The non-profit organisation estimated that if the Government sticks to its proposed level for the incoming zero emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate there will be 2.1 million fewer used small and mid-sized EVs on sale by 2033, compared with a scenario in which ministers adopt the car industry’s “high” EV sales projections.