Who owns Britain’s electric cars?
Like all good nerds, we eagerly await the quarterly publication of vehicle licensing statistics from the Department for Transport. UK authorities hold records of all vehicles that are authorised for use on public roads - the vehicle licensing database. These administrative data, held for the purposes of ensuring road safety and tax compliance, provide a unique and fascinating insight into the UK’s transition to electric vehicles. Here are 3 things we learned about who owns electric cars in the UK.
Private ownership of electric cars hit record levels by the end of 2023
There have been numerous news articles recently reporting a fall in the number of private individuals who are buying electric cars. Yet the data show that in 2023, private ownership of the cars had never been higher. And just look at that trend!
People are buying up ex-company electric cars in growing number
The UK has encouraged companies to buy electric cars with a little-known tax benefit. People who get company cars or cars on a salary sacrifice scheme pay almost no benefit-in-kind tax on the value of the car. That caused a huge rise in the number of electric cars registered to private companies. As those vehicles age, companies will sell them into the used market, where private individuals can increasingly pick up a bargain EV.
The proportion of EVs owned by private individuals and by companies is staying broadly unchanged
Companies are buying EVs when they’re new, and then selling them on a few years later. This system means that individual motorists aren’t bearing the depreciation costs of buying these vehicles new. Commercial fleets, on the other hand, are footing a lot of the bill of Britain’s shift to EVs.
