The van market is proving resistant to electrification with a “lack of curiosity and awareness” among potential buyers.
That’s the view of Dionne Hanlon, senior editor for commercial vehicles at cap hpi, speaking at a Vehicle Remarketing event.
The low sales of electric vans is a problem for van makers who are legally bound to have 10% of vans sold in 2024 be electric under the ZEV Mandate.
Hanlon said that “diesel remaining king” and there was little sign of that situation changing.
She said: “Van buyers know and trust diesel and can see few obvious advantages in switching to electric.
“While there are some issues surrounding the suitability of electric vans for many applications, simple lack of curiosity and awareness among potential customers is also a problem.
There is no real incentive for van users to electrify and, until that changes, the most in-demand vehicles in the market are likely to remain diesel vans.”
At the same even Louis Maxwell, senior insight manager at Auto Trader, told the audience at The Slate, Warwick University, that growth in sales of electric vehicles (EVs) meant that volumes of petrol cars would soon start to fall.
He said: “We’re living in the year of peak petrol. The numbers of petrol cars have stayed stable for the last decade or longer but the speed of electrification means that within five years, there will be two million fewer on our roads.
“We have already seen how diesel is starting to disappear from the new car market and, although the story of petrol will be slower and less dramatic, the rise of the EV means something similar will happen over time.
“Already, we are starting to see EVs become accessible to more buyers. In the used market, we’re seeing prices fall dramatically and now around one third of total EV stock are priced under £30,000, making them more affordable and bringing the sale turnaround time among 3-5 year old cars down to a very rapid 19 days. As the available stock ages and falls in price, EVs will become viable for more buyers.”
Each year, the VRA seminar provides a comprehensive briefing for remarketing professionals about trends affecting the sector in the year ahead.
Andy Webb, head of sales, Brego, added that despite “peak petrol”, values of internal combustion engine cars had stayed consistent in recent years and looked set to remain stable at least into the medium term. There was even the possibility that they could rise as supply began to fall away.
David Bailey, academic economist at Birmingham Business School, added that there were four key actions the government could take to support the UK motor industry through the process of electrification.
“We’d like to see more flexibility surrounding the ZEV Mandate, which we’ll hopefully see soon following this week’s announcement from Jonathan Reynolds; substantial investment in public charging infrastructure; incentives for retail buyers to adopt EVs; and a clear and effective industrial strategy. All of these, taken together, should help to speed electrification.”