High Costs of Electric Motoring A Turn Off For Buyers

Despite grants and benefits, there are only 1,107 electric cars on the road in the UK, a tiny proportion of the 28.5 million cars on UK roads.  Fleet News reports

The high price of electric cars is the biggest turn-off that deters motorists away from buying electric cars, according to new research.

A high price tag was the biggest disincentive for majority of over a third (37 per cent) motorists when it came to considering buying an electric car, a recent survey run by TheGreenCarWebsite.co.uk reveals.

Prices are not likely to fall in the near future after recent Budget announcements, as Automotive Industry Digest says in The Editor’s View,

CORPORATE demand for electric cars would appear to have been killed stone dead by Chancellor George Osborne’s bizarre Budget decision to subject them to a 13% benefit-in-kind tax charge in 2015/16 when the current five-year exemption ends on March 31, 2015. The taxable charge will rise to 15% in 2016/17.

The Green Car Website gauged reaction from several industry sources on their opinion of the future of the Electric Vehicle market

John Lewis from the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA) said: “We have already seen that the market for electric cars has got off to a slow start. By eliminating their company car tax exemption from April 2015, the Chancellor is getting rid of one of the main incentives for fleets to operate them. This measure could kill the electric car market stone dead.”

“The only way out is for manufacturers to slash their prices, which they have so far refused to do.”

Is there any way forward for the Electric Vehicle market in order to make these vehicles attractive to Fleet Managers?  It doesn’t look possible, but there may be some hope.  Fleet News spoke to Faye Sunderland, Editor of the Green Car Website, who said

“But there is a future for the electric car, where the prices come much more in line with traditional rivals. When we start to overcome the price hurdle, we expect that many people will find that electric cars are suitable for their needs. Adjusting to an EV’s range and recharging needs seems to be much less problematic, as our research suggests,” she adds.

Do you think manufacturers will lower the price on Electric Vehicles to make them more attractive to Fleet Managers?