Electric Car Sales Fall By More Than 50 Per Cent

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Thu, 04 Dec 2008

The UK’s electric car market has been hit by a slump in sales and the news that one of two London distributors has gone into administration .

Just 156 electric cars were sold in the UK from January to October compared with 374 for the same period last year, representing a drop of more than 50 per cent, according to consumer website cleangreencars.co.uk.

Nice Car Company, one of two electric car distributors in the capital, was set up in 2006 and had been selling the all-electric French-made Aixam Mega. It also planned to bring in a range of new electric models, including a two-seater and MPV but was forced to close operations earlier this week.

The news comes just three days after the Committee on Climate Change announced it expected electric and hybrid vehicles to form up to 40 per cent of cars on the road by 2020.

Richard Bremner, editor of cleangrrencars.co.uk. commented: "While volumes are still tiny, any drop in electric car sales will come as a shock to most people."

"Perhaps the market for quirky electric vehicles like the Mega City and G-Wiz have had their day. Buyers could be holding off for cars from mainstream manufacturers, although they may still have years to wait before mass production becomes a reality," he added.

There are around 1,100 all-electric cars currently being driven in the UK, the vast majority of which are in London due to the appeal of congestion charge concessions for electric vehicles .