The coronavirus has dealt the world economy a blow it will take years to recover from. With most economies severely slowed down for most of the year, plenty of industries have been affected. While the food service, air travel, and hospitality industries were perhaps the most affected, the automotive industry did not escape unscathed, at least until July. After months of disappointing sales, the UK industry saw 175,000 new registrations in July, an 11% rise from last year.
Battery-powered electric vehicles accounted for 4.7% of all new sales in July, and experts expect this trend to continue for the rest of the year. In fact, Deloitte predicts that by the end of the decade, 31 million plug-in vehicles will be registered worldwide each year. Despite the prevailing global circumstances, electric vehicles have had a rather good year, with sales numbers tripling from 2019 to 2020. This lines up perfectly with most developed governments which are planning to phase out internal combustion-powered vehicles in exchange for electric vehicles in a bid to achieve net-zero emissions.
Plug-in hybrids were particularly popular, quadrupling their sales year on year in July. This can be partly attributed to the Ford Kuga, Europe’s best selling plug-in hybrid vehicle in June. Additionally, Jato Dynamics, a car registration analyst across Europe, states that between June 2019 and June 2020, the number of electric vehicles in Europe rose from 111,300 to 183,300. Aside from the very impressive growth rate of 65%, this also shows that electric vehicles held a 16% market share of all new car registrations.
The increased consumer interest in electric vehicles this year can be partly explained by the coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent lockdown and self-isolation orders. A month or two into the pandemic, the air in many urban areas became much clearer thanks to the reduced traffic on the roads. A study asking motorists whether they noticed a significant reduction in air pollution during the lockdown saw 45% of the respondents saying that the improvement in air quality had made them rethink the possibility of an electric vehicle. 17% of the respondents suggested that it had confirmed their choice to buy an EV.
Additionally, the possibility that plenty of people are working from home and may continue doing so in the future has reduced the need for EVs with an extensive range. At the end of the day, you don’t need an EV with a large battery if you aren’t driving to and from work every day.
Experts say EV makers like NIO Inc. (NYSE: NIO) are looking to cash in on the increased public awareness of how environmentally damaging conventional cars are.
About Green Car Stocks
Green Car Stocks (GCS) is a specialized communications platform with a focus on electric vehicles (EV), as well as other emerging market opportunities in the green sector. The company provides (1) access to a network of wire services via NetworkWire to reach all target markets, industries and demographics in the most effective manner possible, (2) article and editorial syndication to 5,000+ news outlets (3), enhanced press release services to ensure maximum impact, (4) social media distribution via the Investor Brand Network (IBN) to nearly 2 million followers, and (5) a full array of corporate communications solutions. As a multifaceted organization with an extensive team of contributing journalists and writers, GCS is uniquely positioned to best serve private and public companies that desire to reach a wide audience of investors, consumers, journalists and the general public. By cutting through the overload of information in today’s market, GCS brings its clients unparalleled visibility, recognition and brand awareness. GCS is where news, content and information converge.
To receive SMS text alerts from Green Car Stocks, text “Green” to 21000 (U.S. Mobile Phones Only)
For more information, please visit https://www.greencarstocks.com
Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the Green Car Stocks website applicable to all content provided by GCS, wherever published or re-published: https://www.greencarstocks.com/Disclaimer
Green Car Stocks
Los Angeles, CA
www.greencarstocks.com
415.949.5050 Office
[email protected]
Green Car Stocks is part of the InvestorBrandNetwork.
