Electric Blues

Drivers are trading in their electric cars:

Electric car sales forecast slashed as drivers turn to secondhand market Car makers have slashed their forecast for electric car sales this year amid an ongoing slowdown in demand. The Society for Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) now predicts electric vehicles (EVs) will account for 18.5pc of the new car market in 2024, down from an earlier prediction of 19.8pc. EV registrations surged higher in July but sales to private consumers continued to slump. In figures published on Monday, the SMMT also revised down its forecast for the 2024 new car market as a whole, from 1.984m vehicle sales to 1.968m. Within that estimate, the projected number of EV sales has fallen from roughly 393,000 vehicles to 364,000. Mike Hawes, chief executive of the SMMT, said the figures still represented annual growth but warned that weakening demand for EVs among private consumers – despite heavy discounting by car makers – remained the industry’s “overriding concern”.

People want cars that can actually get somewhere...