In January, a total of 20,935 battery electric vehicles (BEVs) were registered in the UK, representing a year-on-year rise of 21% and bringing the total of BEVs sold to the milestone of 1,001,677. Comparatively, and across all kinds of cars, the first month of the year saw 142,876 new cars being registered.

While the BEV market share for January grew year on year to 14.7%, this is below the full 2023 performance of 16.5%. Further, while fleet and business demand for BEVs grew by 41.7% in January, registrations by private buyers fell by -25.1%.

The SMMT said that such volatility in BEV supply has been expected and is likely to continue, not least due to the current lack of significant EV buying incentives for the UK’s private consumer market despite new laws mandating the switch to electric.

The trade body noted that halving VAT on new BEV purchases in particular could put more than a quarter of a million electric cars on the road by 2026—on top of those already expected—and that it’d help to deliver the next million EVs in just two years.

It was estimated that it would cost the Treasury an average of just £1,125 per car, which is less than the cost of the previous Plug-in Car Grant.

Temporarily reducing VAT on EVs would partly mirror the tax exemption already offered to consumers on other carbon reduction technologies, such as heat pumps.

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Mike Hawes, chief executive of the SMMT, commented, “It’s taken just over 20 years to reach our million EV milestone – but with the right policies, we can double down on that success in just another two.

“Market growth is currently dependent on businesses and fleets. Government must therefore use the upcoming Budget to support private EV buyers, temporarily halving VAT to cut carbon, drive economic growth and help everyone make the switch.

“Manufacturers have been asked to supply the vehicles, we now ask government to help consumers buy the vehicles on which net zero depends.”