Electric Cars in the UK: Statistics, Growth, and Future Prospects

This research paper discusses the growth and prospects of electric cars in the UK, with a focus on two articles that cover the statistics, types, and sales of electric vehicles in the country. The paper compares and summarizes the articles, and highlights the benefits of electric cars for the environment and the economy.

SKILLS AND USING
INFORMATION
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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
PART A...........................................................................................................................................3
Introduction of the topic.........................................................................................................3
A background to the topic......................................................................................................4
Presentation of both articles...................................................................................................4
PART 2............................................................................................................................................8
Summary of both articles........................................................................................................8
Comparison of papers.............................................................................................................9
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................12
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INTRODUCTION
Electric cars are automobile that is further propelled by more than one electric motors,
the energy is used which is stored in batteries. This is one of the most promising and advanced
technology which has several set of benefits for the users as well as for environment (Küfeoğlu
and Hong, 2020). This is one of the emerging business in which many companies have expanded
their operations. Further there has been several evidence that electric vehicles cost cheaper in
terms of ownership as compared to other vehicles. This research will consider two articles which
are focused on the use of electric cars in the UK.
PART A
Introduction of the topic
Electric automotive sector is emerging as one of the most promising sector across the world,
the users are shifting from the diesel and petrol cars to electrics cars. United Kingdom has good
capacity of producing such vehicles in the country and there are several companies as of now
that are dealing in this particular automotive sector. The recent surge in the demand of electric
vehicles has totally changed the scenario due to which these cars are getting in trend. The rear or
previous approach towards the electric cars was that the car would be of high maintenance and
there will be several issues in terms of charging and servicing of car. Earlier due to lack of
innovation in technology, the electric vehicles were not as strong as the other engine vehicles in
terms of Horsepower, pickup and other such technical jargons. However, with upgrading set of
technologies and features the electric cars are giving a stiff competition to other type of cars in
the industry (Palmer and et. al., 2018).
Enhancement and innovation in technology is one of the major area that directly contributes
to this electric car industry. Currently the share of electric cars in UK is growing at an immense
rate which suggests that the future adoption of this particular industry is excellent. Usage of
electric car in UK will also help in terms of sustaining the environment. Elimination of using fuel
in cars will reduce pollution in the country to a great extent. Decrease in pollution would not
only save the current environmental conditions but would also help in recovering the damage
that has been done in past.
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A background to the topic
The concept of electric motor was invented back in the year 1828, Anyos Jedlik used his
motor in order to electric car. Later in the year 1996, the very first three wheelers electric vehicle
was invented which was manufactured by Scooter’s India Pvt Ltd. After the first introduction of
the electric vehicles in market, this industry has grown to several folds. After the first
introduction of three wheelers electric vehicle there has been several types of vehicles in the
market. UK being a highly developed nation adopted these new technologies and innovation in
their automobile sector (Santos and Rembalski, 2021). The early stage of adoption was however
challenging as there was several components due to which these vehicles lacked in terms of
innovation. With development in this sector, several leading automobile companies started
dealing in electric cars, some companies used to manufacture them at their production plant
whereas some companies used to outsource them from another manufacturer. Recently there are
several companies who are majorly dealing in this industry, one such example is Tesla. Tesla
majorly produces and sells electric cars and they have several set of features which no other
competitors are currently offering.
Presentation of both articles
Article-1: Electric car statistics - data and projections
This article states the usage of electric cars in UK along with the stats and figures of the
type of cars that were sold in UK in the year 2021. This article long-windedly covers the concept
of electric vehicle along with the different types of electric vehicles that currently exist in the
market. This article also covers the top 10 bestselling electric cars in UK in the year 2021
(Electric car statistics - data and projections, 2022).
As per the article, the recent years has shown an immense growth in the buying of
electric vehicles in UK. Though there were several issues such as pandemic and global shortage
of semiconductor chip, still this industry managed to increase the growth rate by significant
amount of percentage. The latest vehicle stats have shown that EV segment is booming, EV
passenger car sales has increased by almost 186% in the year 2020. As of now, UK has an
estimated 370,000 EVs on the road and there are around 710,000 plug-in hybrids. Further UK is
also looking to put a ban of new diesel and petrol manufacturing and sales which will further
promote the usage of EVs in the country. This will promote the usage of electric vehicles to a
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great extent, which will help the country in terms of saving fuel and sustaining environment
(Morton and et. al., 2018).
This article further revolves around the different categories in electric vehicles which are
currently used in UK. The very first category which is discussed in the article is Pure electric
vehicles (EVs) which is totally powered by an electric battery and the range that is typically
delivered by this vehicle ranges around 100-200 miles. The another type of vehicle that is
generally seen on the roads of UK is Plug-in hybrid vehicle which is a combination of electricity
and fossil fuel which gives a range of 15-30 miles. The another type of vehicle that is generally
seen on the roads of UK is Hybrid electric vehicle (HEVs) which can only be driven for a few
miles on pure electricity.
UK is considered as one of the major contribution in the field of electric vehicles, as the
recent years has shown a boom in the sales of these vehicles. Currently the top selling electric
vehicle in the year 2021 was Tesla Model 3, around 34,783 units of this particular model was
sold. Tesla Model 3 was one of the best –selling model due to the features and properties that are
exhibited in this particular car. This list was further followed by the major brands such as Kia,
VW, Nissan, Audi and Hyundai.
Figure 1: How many electric vehicles have been sold in the UK?
Figure 1 taken from the article shows that the percentage increase in the number of new
electric car registered in UK is increased significantly. The year 2019 shows an increase of 244%
in terms of registration of new electric cars as compared to 2018. Whereas the year 2020 shows
an increase of 285% increase in the new registered electric cars as compared to the year 2019.
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Figure 2: How many battery electric vehicles have been sold month-by-month?
Figure 2 shows the monthly distribution of registered electric vehicle that were sold in the
year 2021. The month December shows a significant change as compared to January, the month
January has shown a sale of 6,260 whereas December has shown a sale of 27,705 vehicles. The
year December has shown a growth rate of around 442% as compared to January.
Article 2: The road to electric - in charts and data
This article verbosely covers the type of electric vehicles that are there in UK along with
the number of electric cars that are currently running in UK (Chen and et. al., 2020). Further it
also covers the number of electric car charging points that are there in UK, further it also shows
the usage of electric cars on the roads of UK. The main data related to EV’s that is covered in
this article is mostly based on charts and figures. These charts and figures shows the adoption of
EVs in UK at an immense rate in the recent years. After 2030, UK is looking to ban the petrol
and diesel vehicles so that these new innovations can be adopted in the country (The road to
electric - in charts and data, 2021).
Further this article also covers the number of charging stations that are established across
UK which people can use to charge their vehicles in the country. The places in which electric car
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can be charged are growing at rapid rate which shows that adoption of EVs in the new society is
increasing at an immense rate. The aggregate data suggests that petrol and diesel vehicle can
drive an average of 500 miles after filling full tank. The range of petrol and diesel vehicles vary
based on the fuel capacity of the car, however an average suggests that these cars can cover up to
500 miles with a single refill. On the other hand, the electric vehicles are unable to offer this sort
of range as they get charged once and can only drive up to 350 miles.
Figure 3: How many electric cars are on the UK's roads?
Figure 3 suggests the significant increase in the different types of electric vehicles that
are currently running on UK’s road. The different types of vehicles that are BEVs, PHEVs and
HEVs being sold from the year 2010 to 2021.
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Figure 4: Registrations of new electric cars in the UK
PART 2
Summary of both articles
Article-1: Electric car statistics - data and projections
From this article it can be summarised that usage of electric car in UK is increasing at a
rapid rate and there is certain evidence that shows this is one of the most promising sector in UK.
Several data and projection suggest that the number of electric cars registered over the year is
increasing at an increasing growth rate (Logan and et. al., 2020). The growth rate is also in triple
figures which makes the industry promising in terms of growth. From this article it can also be
summarised that there are several types of EV’s in the market and there are several companies in
the industry which produce such electric vehicle. Tesla is one of the leading companies that deal
in electric vehicles in several countries. UK is one of the leading countries as they have good
resources and are currently adapting to the new and improvised technology.
Article 2: The road to electric - in charts and data
This article aims to track the UK's progress towards zero-carbon driving. According to the
article's summary, after 2030, the automotive industry will no longer sell new gasoline and diesel
cars or vehicles. This means the UK's car industry and government are more inclined to switch
drivers to cleaner vehicles. In the UK, there are several types of electric vehicles, such as battery
electric vehicles (BEV), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) and hybrid electric vehicles
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(HEV). It is estimated that there are around 370,000 zero-emission battery electric vehicles on
UK roads, according to RAC estimates. Multiple figures and charts suggest that there are more
HEVs on UK roads compared to BEVs and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (Gomez Vilchez and
et. al., 2019). In addition, registrations of new electric vehicles in the UK in 2021 are growing at
full speed. However, petrol cars still have the highest number of registrations of all types of new
cars in the UK. Furthermore, it is concluded that the number of charging locations is growing
rapidly with the increased use of electric and hybrid vehicles and vehicles. There are different
chargers, among them super fast chargers can charge the car in less than an hour or even
minutes. According to current charts and figures in the UK, buses have around 25,000 fast and
super fast charging devices. As a result, UK’s RAC is leading the way in supporting drivers to
switch to electric vehicles. In addition, with the increase in the number of patrol cars, built-in
emergency mobile charging stations have been developed, which are capable of supplying
uncharged vehicles with enough power to drive a certain distance to a nearby charging station.
Comparison of papers
In order to understand the differences between the studies presented in the two articles, it is
important to compare the papers, there are a few factors that contribute to the comparison
between the articles. Some factors are highlighted below to compare UK’s EV statistics:
Purpose-
Regarding Article 1, the purpose of this article is to describe and present EV statistics in
terms of UK’s EV sales. This article aims to define the growth in EV sales following Covid-19
and the rapid increase in registrations for EV purchases in 2021. This article provides an
overview of the statistics and data on electric vehicles and their market. This article aims to
define the entire concept of electric vehicles, the different types of electric vehicles on the market
and their capabilities (Morganti and Browne, 2018). Additionally, this article aims to calculate
the best-selling EVs in 2021, along with EV brands and their annual sales. The purpose of this
article is to highlight the sales of electric vehicles in the UK. Another purpose of this article is to
compare the UK and EU on post-Brexit EV sales. In addition, total new vehicle sales in the UK
versus EVs were compared.
The article 2 seeks to trace the growth and development of the UK's zero-emission
driving and automotive industries (The road to electric - in charts and data. 2021). The main
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purpose of this article is to examine the progress the UK has made in getting drivers to choose
electric vehicles over petrol and diesel engine cars. This article is about a study of RAC's
breakdown service for electric vehicle drivers. To this end, this article aims to define the
different categories of electric vehicles that exist on UK roads (Rallabandi and et. al., 2018). In
addition to this report, it aims to understand the number of electric vehicles on UK roads, the
number of registrations of new electric vehicles in the UK automotive industry and the number
of registrations of all new vehicles in the UK. The main purpose of this paper is to examine the
total number of charging points installed for electric vehicles in the UK. The report also aims to
find out the most popular EV brands and how far their cars can travel on a single charge.
Methodology-
In article 1 by Dan Powell on the Heycar website, to mention the different figures and
statistics related to the growth of the UK’s EV industry was assisted by secondary research
methodology. This method used by the author is collected through secondary data collection
method is very useful for analyzing and collecting data related to the increase of electric vehicles
and sales of different vehicles.
In Article 2, data, facts, and figures are collected through secondary and primary research
methods to help RAC deeply analyze the electric vehicle market and develop breakdown
services for electric vehicle drivers (Berkeley, Jarvis and Jones, 2018). The company uses
secondary data to present different graphs, figures and statistics related to electric vehicle
registrations, sales and charging stations. In the context of Article 2, the company also used
primary research to analyze the potential of electric vehicles to travel on a single charge.
Results-
As it can be resulted from the Article 1, the electric vehicle market is booming rapidly. In
addition, EV sales in the UK market will increase by 76.3% in 2021 (Electric car statistics - data
and projections. 2022). Also, by 2035, only fully electric cars and vans are expected to be sold in
the UK market. It has also led to the UK government's plan to ban the sale of all petrol and diesel
powered new cars and vans by 2030. In addition, new hybrid cars will be banned, as motto is to
promote and switch to cleaner cars. Furthermore, it can be concluded that Tesla is more likely to
dominate the electric vehicle market with its technologically advanced models, and there is also
a high growth in the installation of charging stations.
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It is resulted from Article 2, the UK is moving the country towards zero-carbon driving by
opting for electric vehicles powered by batteries and charging energy rather than petrol or diesel
(Skeete and et. al., 2020). Furthermore, it was concluded that UK roads are feeling a good
presence of light and premium electric vehicles. Furthermore, it is estimated that EV
registrations have increased to a huge threshold, suggesting that drivers are turning their attention
to EVs for sustainability. In addition, the UK government is focusing on increasing the
installation of charging stations and employing a breakdown built-in emergency service to help
electric vehicle drivers get enough power anytime, anywhere.
CONCLUSION
From the above two articles and analysis it can be concluded that EV is one of the promising
sector that has grown to several folds and currently has a lot of potential in future. UK is one of
the developed countries that have enough technology and resources to support the innovations
that come their way. The Electric vehicle segment has grown to tremendous levels over the past
few years, the graphs and stats suggest that in future this business can grow to huge levels. These
two articles are closely related as they both suggest that electronic vehicle has great future and
further these articles delivers that in UK market there is huge scope for the electric vehicles.
Also, in the UK market the electric vehicle has given scope to the new market and business such
as the charging stations. For UK to progress itself as the cleanest country that has 100% zero
emission driving on the UK roads it is important to pay more attention on installing more ultra
rapid charging stations. Also, it concluded from the article 2, that systems like All-Wheels-Up
recovery system help the electric vehicle drivers to provide them a mobile service of charging
and also helps to rescue such cars and drivers with no need of flatbed.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Bergman, N., 2018. Electric vehicles and the future of personal mobility in the United Kingdom.
In Transitions in Energy Efficiency and Demand (pp. 53-71). Routledge.
Berkeley, N., Jarvis, D. and Jones, A., 2018. Analysing the take up of battery electric vehicles:
An investigation of barriers amongst drivers in the UK. Transportation Research Part D:
Transport and Environment, 63, pp.466-481.
Chen, T. and et. al., 2020. A review on electric vehicle charging infrastructure development in
the UK. Journal of Modern Power Systems and Clean Energy, 8(2), pp.193-205.
Gomez Vilchez, J.J. and et. al., 2019. Electric car purchase price as a factor determining
consumers’ choice and their views on incentives in Europe. Sustainability, 11(22),
p.6357.
Küfeoğlu, S. and Hong, D.K.K., 2020. Emissions performance of electric vehicles: A case study
from the United Kingdom. Applied Energy, 260, p.114241.
Küfeoğlu, S., Melchiorre, D.A. and Kotilainen, K., 2019. Understanding tariff designs and
consumer behaviour to employ electric vehicles for secondary purposes in the United
Kingdom. The Electricity Journal, 32(6), pp.1-6.
Logan, K.G. and et. al., 2020. UK and China: Will electric vehicle integration meet Paris
agreement targets?. Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives, 8,
p.100245.
Morganti, E. and Browne, M., 2018. Technical and operational obstacles to the adoption of
electric vans in France and the UK: An operator perspective. Transport Policy, 63,
pp.90-97.
Morton, C. and et. al., 2018. The spatial pattern of demand in the early market for electric
vehicles: Evidence from the United Kingdom. Journal of Transport Geography, 72,
pp.119-130.
O'Neill, E. and et. al., 2019. Barriers to electric vehicle uptake in Ireland: Perspectives of car-
dealers and policy-makers. Case Studies on Transport Policy, 7(1), pp.118-127.
Palmer, K. and et. al., 2018. Total cost of ownership and market share for hybrid and electric
vehicles in the UK, US and Japan. Applied energy, 209, pp.108-119.
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Rallabandi, V. and et. al., 2018, June. Multi-Physics modeling for electric and hybrid vehicles
with in-wheel electric motors. In 2018 IEEE Transportation Electrification Conference
and Expo (ITEC) (pp. 146-151). IEEE.
Santos, G. and Rembalski, S., 2021. Do electric vehicles need subsidies in the UK?. Energy
Policy, 149, p.111890.
Skeete, J.P. and et. al., 2020. Beyond the EVent horizon: Battery waste, recycling, and
sustainability in the United Kingdom electric vehicle transition. Energy Research &
Social Science, 69, p.101581.
Online
Article 1
Electric car statistics - data and projections. 2022. [Online]. Available through:
https://heycar.co.uk/blog/electric-cars-statistics-and-projections/
Article 2
The road to electric - in charts and data. 2021. [Online]. Available through:
https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/electric-cars/choosing/road-to-electric/
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