Dueling headlines in America this month: “Don’t believe what you’ve heard — electric vehicle sales in the U.S. are zooming” versus “As demand for EVs plummets, Biden’s green fantasy is pummeling U.S. auto dealers.” Increasingly, EV owners are waking up from the dream and realizing that their shiny new $60,000 car is nothing but an expensive golf cart. ⁃ TN Editor
Psssst. Wanna’ buy a new electric vehicle (EV)? No, me neither, but some people do and they’re being greeted by desperate car dealers willing to slash prices by anything up to a quarter in an effort to shift stock.
This Is Money reports the average discount on a new EV in the UK has increased by 204 percent since last January, citing market analysis by What Car? as dealerships are going to extraordinary lengths to stimulate sluggish sales.
The revelation comes just days after a Lords Committee warned the Government that UK drivers are turning their back on the electric transition.
Electric Vehicle Sales Slump to Just a Quarter of New Purchaseshttps://t.co/XJxuXbfXzJ
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) January 7, 2024
They are blaming a toxic combination of high purchase costs, insufficient charging infrastructure, and mixed messaging from ministers.
The What Car? report sets out the financial details:
Analysis of the discounts available through What Car?’s New Car Deals service has revealed that, from January 2023 to January this year, the average cash and finance discount on EVs rose from 2.4 per cent to 7.5 per cent.
On average, this equated to dealers knocking an extra £3,149 off the list price of an electric car, taking the total saving to £4,603.
Its market research also shows that the growth in EV discounts in the past 12 months has far outstripped those for petrol, diesel and hybrid models.
Official car sales data held by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) shows electric car sales to consumers – not fleets or businesses – fell by a quarter (25.1 percent) year-on-year in January.
Blame for the slow consumer embrace of EVs has been constantly shifting with English comedy icon Rowan Atkinson, forever applauded for his on-screen creation Mr. Bean, even blamed for “damaging” the reputation of EVs and contributing to slow sales simply by expressing his opinion on their future – or lack of it.
Source: Car Dealers Slash Prices Of EVs As Demand Craters