8:25 am, November 4, 2024
The UK’s EV market is the ‘worst supported’ in Europe when it comes to Government incentives aimed at convincing motorists to go electric.
That is according to Polestar boss Matt Galvin, who says the Government is currently offering ‘no carrot’ to make drivers want to make the switch.
The managing director is calling on ministers to ‘step up’ and introduce a new wave of EV incentives, following last week’s controversial Budget, which quietly re-introduced to the 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel cars.
Speaking to PA news agency, part-owner of Car Dealer Magazine, Polestar’s UK managing director said: ‘UK markets are the worst supported in Europe for any government incentives to help people transition from a petrol or diesel engine to an EV powertrain, and we really do need now for the Government to step up.
‘I’m calling for the Government to step up and assist not just Polestar but the wider automotive industry, to help customers make that switch.
‘I firmly believe that the automakers have made big steps forward in quite a short space of time to lower the cost of buying an electric car.
‘They’re still quite expensive, let’s be honest, but the automotive manufacturers are doing all they can to reduce the cost of manufacturing and therefore pass on those savings to the customer in terms of incentives.
‘We at Polestar have recently launched a 0% finance campaign across all of our range, so I feel that we’re doing our bit, but there isn’t the carrot coming from the Government for people to make that change.
‘That carrot needs to come in the form of maybe halving VAT on all new electric cars, and certainly levelling that VAT on public charging – taking VAT down to 5% in line with domestic charging – that would also be a welcome step forward.’
In last week’s Budget, chancellor Rachel Reeves announced plans to increase the first year VED rates for new cars in an attempt to widen the gap between ‘higher polluting’ vehicles and EVs.
However, the industry largely reacted with disappointment that there were not more measures aimed at incentivising the uptake of EVs.
Galvin says that ‘more needs to be done’ around public charging infrastructure to help people get over so-called ‘charging anxiety’.
He added: ‘I don’t think it’s so much range anxiety that’s the issue, it’s charging anxiety. It’s ‘if I’m caught out, where can I charge? Is it easy? Am I going to be stuck there for hours waiting?
‘I think we all just need to re-gear our minds a little bit to be open to this new technology – because for the majority of people that (drive) eight to 10 thousand miles a year, they probably need to charge the car once a week because ranges have got much better.’
‘We have the ambition to double the size of our retail footprint in the UK’
Earlier this year Polestar announced a major shake-up to its dealer network by turning its back on the agency model, in a bid to boost sales.
The Swedish brand currently has nine retail sites in the UK but is planning to increase that figure to 17 over the next year to 18 months.
Setting out the outfit’s plans for its dealer network, Galvin said: ‘One of the big projects we’re embarking on this year and next year is we have the ambition to double the size of our retail footprint in the UK, so we’re going to go from eight or nine spaces to 17 or 18 spaces.
‘But we’re still a very small brand – we’re not BMW or Tesla – but we’ve got big aspirations to grow and grow quickly, and we need to do that by educating people, we need to do that by giving people the experience that Polestar offers, which is quite unique.
‘We need to be able to convey these positive messages about our brand, but also how easy it is to live with an electric car.’
The boss says that among the key messages that dealers need to push is how technology was helping to boost the appeal of electric cars.
The version of Google Maps used in Polestar’s vehicles automatically plots any required charging stops for users into planned routes, and can even be customised to allow drivers to set a battery charge level they would like to have in the car when they arrive at their destination.
He added that the idea that EVs were more technologically advanced than petrol or diesel cars was a ‘marketing theme’, and one he felt was ‘positive’.
‘Having an electric car is one thing, but if you don’t know when or where to charge it and that becomes a headache, you’re going to fall out of love with it quite quickly aren’t you?,’ Galvin said. ‘The two are married quite well together.’
In response to the Polestar boss’s comments, a Department for Transport spokesperson said: ‘We are committed to supporting drivers and manufacturers as we phase out the sale of new cars that rely solely on internal combustion engines by 2030.
‘There are already a range of incentives to help people switch and we will continue to work with industry on supporting continued demand.’
