Electric Vehicles Sales Overtake Diesel Again in July 2021

There has been an increase in the number of registered electric vehicles sales that have surpassed the number of diesel cars which have been sold in the same time duration for a second consecutive month in July, according to the figures by the car industry. This occurrence has been for the third time when the battery run electric vehicles sales in the United Kingdom have been able to overtake diesel in the time period of the past two years.

Gradual upscale in electric vehicles

According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, registration of new car sales has dropped by almost one-third of the previous amount. The entire car industry had suffered the pingdemic of people that are in self-isolation, along with the continual shortage in the semiconductor chips, which is an essential part required in the manufacturing of vehicles.

In the month of July, the registration for electric vehicles sales again overtook the diesel vehicles, although the petrol cars registration had far outdone both of them.

All automobiles are generally registered at the time when they are sold to a customer, but the dealers can also be able to register vehicles before they are put up for selling on the forecourt.

As the government of the United Kingdom is moving towards a low carbon emission future, the residents of the country have been able to cause a surge in electric vehicles sales. The United Kingdom is looking forward to completely ban the selling of new diesel and petrol vehicles by the year 2030 and hybrid cars by 2035, and due to this planning initiative, the general population has also become interested in the sales of electric vehicles in the region.

This signifies that most of the vehicles that are to be present on the road by the year 2050 would either be electric vehicles or would be using another form of technology for non-fossil fuel like hydrogen fuel cells.

In the previous month of July, a bumper growth has been observed in the sales of electric vehicles, as they have taken up 9% of the total sold vehicles. Other plug-in vehicles, including hybrids, have reached 8% in sales, while hybrid electric vehicles sales have been seen at almost 12%.

In comparison, the total market share for diesel vehicles has reached 7.1%, as 8,783 cars have been registered in a single month across the region. Previously in the month of June this year, battery electric vehicles sales have also outsold the diesel vehicles, similar to the statistics of April 2020.

According to the SMMT, the overall registration for new cars in the United Kingdom has fallen about 29.5% to 123,296 cars.

Pandemic effect on the automotive industry

The chief executive of SMMT, Mike Hawes, said that the bright spot in the month of July remains the rapidly surging demands and electric vehicles sales as the consumers are responding in increasingly large quantities towards these new technological advancements, which is further driven by the enlarging product choice, incentives for both financial and fiscal, along with an enjoyable experience while driving.

However, due to the shortage in the number of semiconductor chips, along with the self-isolating working staff members due to the pingdemic, were throttling the ability of the car industry to take advantage of the gradually strengthening outlook of the economy, while the sales of the electric vehicles are increasing.

Many of the firms located across the United Kingdom are currently struggling with their working staff members as the general public is being advised to stay at home and self-isolate by the COVID application launched by the National Health Service in the so-called situation of ‘pingdemic’.

David Borland of EY, an audit firm, said that the figures that are weak for the month of July had not been a surprising observation in comparison to the sales of the electric vehicles of the past year when the United Kingdom was gradually coming out of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and nationwide lockdown protocols that were implemented to stop the surge of infection in the region.

This provides a continuous reminder that any of the comparisons which are done with the previous year should be taken with a pinch of salt as the coronavirus pandemic has created a sense of uncertainty and volatile situation for the sales of vehicles.

He added that the moves towards vehicles with zero-emission still continue. Large gigafactories are trying to break the grounds, while plants for battery working and electric vehicles are currently receiving a renewed sense of commitment from their investing parties along with the government as they are pointing towards a healthy and electrified future from the automotive industry of the United Kingdom.

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