Electric vehicle sales dive in the UK
All car sales in the UK have tanked in recent months just as they have here in the US market. Perhaps more surprisingly, sales of electric cars - which had been doing relatively well, especially in London - took a nosedive. Aside from the general economic malaise, changes in the London congestion zone have had an impact. As cars that emit less than 120 g/km of CO2 have become exempt from the congestion charge, more buyers have opted for cars like the VW Polo BlueMotion and Smart ForTwo CDi. Also playing a part in the drop have been concerns about safety with the battery powered quadricycles like the G-Wiz. A reversal in the policy of not charging EVs for parking in London has also contributed to the decline. The Nice Car Company that was offering electric cars recently declared bankruptcy. Perhaps when some newer electric cars that actually pass automotive safety standards such as the Th!nk go on sale in the next year or so, sales will recover.
Gallery: Reva G-Wiz
[Source: What Car?]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
TheRookie 1:46PM (12/04/2008)
"As cars that emit less than 120 g/km of CO2 have become exempt from the congestion charge"
Er... not quite. That was the plan but when Ken (London's Mayor) was thrown out of his office, the idea was scrapped by BoJo. So the free pass for cars emitting less than 120g/km CO2 never materialized.
If I am not mistaken, at the moment only cars with "alternative fuel", such as hybrids are exempt
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Ignatius 1:58PM (12/04/2008)
It'd be kind of comical to see the G-Wiz go up against a Hummer H2...
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TheRookie 2:39PM (12/04/2008)
BTW, talking about Hummer and such...
Hummer registrations in the UK were up 232.69% this year, according to SMMT: http://www.smmt.co.uk/articles/article.cfm?articleid=18615
In November though their sales plummeted by 46.15% (pretty much in line with the rest of brands).
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Mark Kiernan 4:33PM (12/04/2008)
Consider that the only electric car is pretty much something like the G-wiz (a car I would never buy), things should change when we have proper electric cars, like the volt
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