Vauxhall has called on the government to do more to help support private buyers of affordable electric cars, even if that requires redistributing some of the money used to support electric company cars.
Company cars continue to account for the bulk of all EVs sold in the UK, with buyers boosted by tax benefits and incentives. By contrast, there have been no incentives for private EV buyers since the £1500 Plug-in Car Grant was axed in 2022.
The government is currently mulling changes to the zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate – but has insisted that it won't back down from its ultimate target of banning the sale of new pure-ICE vehicles by 2035.
Yet it's also due to start applying vehicle excise duty (VED) to EVs from next April, raising the cost of running an EV.
Vauxhall has so far enjoyed strong sales for the EV versions of the Corsa, Mokka and Astra and in 2025 will add EV versions of the new Frontera and Grandland in the crucial C-SUV market. Notably, the Frontera Electric will be priced from just £23,495.
MD James Taylor said that further sales growth among private buyers could be accelerated with further support from the government.
"Ultimately we need the government to do more to help support more people considering buying an electric car, especially in the retail marketplace and at the lower price end," Taylor told Autocar.
"For me, the government should redistribute some of the benefits of company car taxation, which is vast and heavily weighted towards more expensive cars, and put that into some form of incentives for private retail customers for more affordable small and family cars.
"Just giving that little nudge would have a significant impact on the percentage of customers wanting to buy an electric car – and it's important to reward people for what we would all consider to be doing the right thing for the long term, which is moving to a greener future."
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