ELECTRIC vehicle experts, DriveElectric, are predicting a huge uptick in the number of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) to be registered in 2020.
The Marlow-based leasing broker says that it expects 98,500 BEV registrations, representing an increase of 260% compared with 2019 (37,850 registrations).
DriveElectric uses its own model built from its intelligence of the UK market to forecast BEV buyer behaviour.
Michael Potter, managing director, commenting on LinkedIn, said:
“Last year our forecast was 4000 units below the final figure. It will be interesting to see if we hit the mark this year as it’s such a big year for UK BEV sales.”
DriveElectric offered plenty of underlying reasons to be so optimistic about BEV sales:
- Changes to Benefit in Kind (BIK) company car tax: there will be zero company car tax on pure electric cars from April 2020 for a period of 12 months.
- A return to company cars rather than employees taking car allowances
- Increased availability of electric cars in 2020 compared with 2019
- Existing manufacturers such as Tesla will continue with a large market share and a high number of deliveries (approximately 25,000 units).
- A number of manufacturers are entering the market with new battery electric vehicles, for example PSA, with a predicted volume of 12,000 units. Volkswagen will have a big push with EVs although ID.3 won’t be ready until late 2020.
- Growing environmental awareness about climate change and local air quality
- Increasing numbers of initiatives such as Clean Air Zones are resulting in organisations considering renewing their fleets with electric rather than petrol or diesel vehicles.
- The superior driving experience offered by BEVs once drivers overcome their technological scepticism.
Ralph Morton is the leading journalist in the leasing broker sector and editor of Broker News, the website which provides information and news for BVRLA-registered leasing brokers. He also writes extensively on the fleet and leasing market in both the UK and Europe.
