Market research survey indicates EV sales may give major boost to motor industry in coming years
Sun 06 February 2011
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A new survey by Gfk Automotive says that the UK motor industry could receive a £7.2bn boost over the next three or four years from rising sales of electric cars. However, a leading EV entrepreneur has cast doubt on the effectiveness of the UK Government's plans.
The market research firm GfK surveyed 5053 UK drivers and found that 1.8 per cent would "definitely" buy an electric car by 2014, indicating electric vehicle sales of more than 300,000 cars. Using the the new Nissan electric car – the Nissan Leaf – as a benchmark, which sells for around £24,000, the total value of 300,000 electric cars could be £7.2 billion, GfK says.
Another 3 per cent of respondents, equating to 500,000 of all car-buyers, say they would consider going electric in the future, once concerns such as battery "range anxiety" are satisfactorily addressed.
GfK automotive spokesman Mark Durham said that with so many people on the verge of going electric, the Government, manufacturers and energy suppliers need to “grasp the nettle and address peoples' concerns”.
However, Shai Agassi the entrepreneur and founder of electric vehicle and infrastructure initiative Better Place says that the Government's policy on electric vehicles is too small and short-term to encourage investors to make the required investment.
Mr Agassi told The Guardian newspaper: "One thing that's missing in the UK is clarity of Government regulations. When we come in and do a project like [Better Place], it's a fairly intensive infrastructure project with a lot of investment. Investors want to see clarity on the regulatory framework that would indicate that the government would support this for a long period of time, not just for a small number of cars or a short period of time."
Agassi pointed to several countries around the world that were already creating suitable incentives for major electric car investments including Israel, Denmark, France, China, Japan and the US.
Mr Agassi continued: "You're looking at a significant long-term signal by the government that says, if you put the infrastructure in and convince the consumers, we're not going to pull the rug from underneath you. We need something like that from the UK Government."
The UK Government recently launched a £43 million fund - to be reviewed in March 2012 - to provide incentives for British motorists to shift to low-carbon vehicles. A grant subsidy of up to £5,000 for the electric vehicles is being offered.
Meanwhile, in the United States the Department of Energy is also promoting low carbon transport with an investment of US$2.85 billion in electric vehicles following a call from President Obama in his State of the Union Address to put one million electric vehicles on the road by 2015. US$2 billion will go towards the development by US motor manufacturers of advanced vehicle batteries and powertrain components. Around $400 million will be invested to buy, test, and deploy different types of electric vehicles in the marketplace, and $300 million in cost-share projects under the "Clean Cities" programme.
The US' Recovery Act has set up a system of tax credits for purchasing electric vehicles of between $2,500 - $7,500 per vehicle, depending on battery size and conversion kits to retrofit ICE-powered vehicles with electric vehicle capability (up to $4,000). The President has also proposed transforming the existing $7,500 EV tax credit into a more accessible and even more attractive rebate at the dealership.Forty states of the Union and the District of Columbia are either offering or considering consumer incentives for electric cars in a bid to 'kick-start' the fledgling market.
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