Private customers are turning towards electric cars in greater numbers than ever before in a sign that growing choice at the cheaper end of the market is persuading customers of petrol and diesel models to make the switch.
Figures seen by MG show that retail sales of electric cars were up 59% in the first two months of the year, compared with 40% for the EV market overall. With March included, EVs accounted for over a fifth of the new car market, according to figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
MG attributed the rise to keener pricing at the lower end of the market. “All retail customers want outstanding value for money and the lowest running costs they can possibly get,” Guy Pigounakis, commercial director of MG in the UK, told Autocar. “But the monthly payments outweigh anything else.”
For the past couple of years, MG has largely had the budget end of the EV market to itself with the MG 4 EV compact hatchback costing from £27,000 with PCP monthly figures from £269. The electric ZS SUV, now replaced by the S5 EV, also came in below £30,000.
But the availability of new models such as the Dacia Spring city car from £14,995 and the Kia EV3 SUV from £33,000 in a segment with pricing normally over £40,000 is helping to lure private sellers towards a market that has so far largely been driven by fleets.
Last year, for example, fleets accounted for four out of every five EVs sold in the UK. Tax incentives, including the wildly popular salary sacrifice scheme, have made electric cars cheap enough for company car drivers to make the switch.
So much so that Britain’s two million-strong fleet of leased cars is now 37% electric with a massive 53% of new orders being EVs, according to the latest data from the British Vehicle and Leasing Association calculated from 2024 third-quarter figures.
Of that two million, just under a fifth are plug-in hybrid, but new orders are now below the total at 17%, demonstrating that electric is now becoming the drivetrain of choice to reduce company car tax bills.
The other big driver of EV fleet sales has been Motability, the charity that supplies cars to disabled people in return for their weekly mobility allowance. Motability Operations had 70,000 EVs in its fleet up to the end of last year, with orders for 13,000 more. However, after running hot last year and accounting for around a fifth of all car sales, Motability has backed off in 2025 – for example, cutting its New Vehicle Payment bonus of £750 to new customers.
Add your comment