The boss of the best-selling car maker in the UK has called on more incentives to be introduced to support the uptake of electric cars.
Volkswagen Group UK managing director Damien O’Sullivan also called on more investment to be made in the public charging network.
In a wide-ranging interview, his first since taking over from Alex Smith last December, O’Sullivan also discussed the impact of tariffs on the wider business and how the company had no plans to restrict the sale of ICE cars as a way of becoming compliant with the UK's ZEV mandate.
Incentives and support
O’Sullivan feels there “could be further stimulus in the market to have people buying electric cars”.
“I think there is still space," he said. "I don't think the ship has sailed on it. I think incentive schemes for people to move from combustion to electric cars are always a good way of doing it.”
There is evidence to show people are holding onto cars for longer, thus slowing down the CO2 reduction from road cars. O’Sullivan said incentive schemes to support new EV sales would also help create a more buoyant used EV market.
He also called for a review on the Expensive Car Supplement for extra VED ('car tax') for cars costing over £40,000 to be reviewed, as “electric cars are more expensive to manufacture”.
“When you look at the data and the price point of electric cars that sell now, that can have a further damaging impact on trying to sell more electric cars in the market. So really we would prefer it if it was reviewed,” he said.
He supported the calls for VAT on public chargers to be cut from 20% to 5% to match the cost of home charging; and more support for charger network operators to encourage more installations.
ZEV mandate consultation
Speaking before the government announced its fast-tracked response to the ZEV mandate consultation over the weekend, O’Sullivan said the Volkswagen Group’s UK planning took place on a rolling five-year basis and that the firm had planned its model launches to ensure it would remain compliant with the mandate as it stood.
There are no plans for the company to limit the sales of non-electric cars, as some firms – including Ford – have suggested could be an option in order to comply with the ZEV mandate. O’Sullivan said that such moves were “an unfortunate aspect of the ZEV mandate from a consumer perspective”.
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