9:35 am, December 5, 2008
IF you’re thinking green electric car sales may be a good business to get into, then think again.
Independent website cleangreencars has revealed that, in 2008, electric car sales have halved.
The January to October total is just 156 sales – over half of the 374 sold in the same period in 2007. And a mere drop in the ocean compared to conventional car sales.
London-based distributor Nice has already gone out of business.
This means the UK’s first electric five-door family car, with a heady price tag of £14,000, is now unlikely to go on sale.
The site pinpoints several reasons for the collapse in sales:
• Scrapping of CO2-based congestion charge proposals
• Poor safety record of electric cars
• City of London U-turn on electric car parking concessions
• Mainstream makers formalising their electric car plans
‘While volumes are still tiny, any drop in electric car sales will come as a shock to most people,’ said Richard Bremner, editor of cleangreencars.
‘Perhaps the market for quirky electric vehicles like the Mega City and G-Wiz have had their day. Buyers could be holding off for cars from mainstream manufacturers, although they may still have years to wait before mass production is a reality.’
Currently, there are 1100 electric cars on UK roads. You may think there are much more, such are their high profile, but the reality is much different.
Car dealers thinking of getting into the electric car business may just want to hold off their decision, for now.
