If you’ve been contemplating going electric, there hasn’t been a better time to take the plunge than this month.
In what amounts to a Christmas giveaway for buyers, many manufacturers and dealers are offering huge discounts and incentives to shove their 2024 models out of showrooms.
It’s all part of a concerted - desperate, even - effort to take the sting out of hefty fines that loom for car companies which fail to hit the government’s electric vehicle sales target.
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This so-called zero emission vehicle mandate demands that mainstream makers have to steadily phase out petrol and diesel cars by increasing the proportion of battery-powered vehicles they sell each year, starting with 22% for 2024. Missing that mark means a fine of £15,000 for every vehicle sold below the threshold.
Northern Ireland officially joins England, Scotland and Wales in the scheme for 2025, when the target will climb to an even more ambitious 28%. The DUP’s dough-headed boycott of Stormont meant the Assembly wasn’t able to pass the necessary legislation in time for the start of this year; steps to rectify that were taken in October when MLAs approved the draft Vehicle Emissions Trading Schemes (Amendment) Order 2024.
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ZEV mandate figures are calculated across the whole UK market. New car registrations in Northern Ireland account for around 2% of the UK total, so are unlikely to be decisive in whether or not a car-maker hits the zero emissions target in a given year (it is scheduled to climb to 33% for 2026; 38% for 2027; 52% for 2028; 66% for 2029; 80% for 2030; and 100% by 2035).
According to trade body the SMMT, in the year up to the end of November, 18.7% of new cars registered in 2024 were zero emissions.
A quarter of new cars sold in November were electric. This reflected the hefty discounts being offered to stimulate interest in battery cars, which the sales charts show still leave most buyers cold.
If the discounting pays off throughout this month, the EV market share could maybe hit 19% - still some way below the mandated 22%, and miles behind next year’s 28%.
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The difficulty in persuading drivers into EVs is fast becoming an existential crisis for swathes of the motor industry, which has been lobbying the government to make changes. The Labour business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, said at the end of November that he would consult with car companies because the ZEV mandate scheme was “not working as intended”. It’s difficult to know what mitigations might be on the table, however, as the government is still committed to the 2030 internal combustion engine ban.
Major manufacturers in most difficulty right now include the Volkswagen Group (Volkswagen, Skoda, Audi, Seat, Cupra), Stellantis (Fiat, Jeep, Peugeot, Citroen, DS, Alfa Romeo, Vauxhall), Renault and Nissan. Despite having fabulous EVs in their ranges, Hyundai and Kia are both falling short. Ford is well off the pace, too, as is Land Rover and the defunct-for-now Jaguar.
BMW and Mini are on course for 25% zero emission sales this year, with Mercedes aiming for 24.5%. Volvo parent company Geely, which also operates the EV-only Polestar brand and Lotus, is on 38%.
Some of these marques will fare better next year and beyond simply through the arrival of much-needed new EV products; Ford will roll out the Explorer and Capri next year, along with an electric Puma, for example, and Renault has the exciting new 5 E-Tech model on the way.
Whether any of these cars truly catch the imagination of the car buying public in sufficiently large numbers remains to be seen. Not enough people are convinced by EVs; the fact that some major players have signalled they’ll keep building ICE cars for longer than anticipated, or announced plans to develop new engines speaks of the flux in the market. Faltering sales mean that the Volkswagen Group is closing an Audi EV factory in Brussels early next year and is also in deep difficulty in Germany.
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Splendidly detached from all this chaos and uncertainty is Elon Musk’s Tesla, still the only major 100% zero emission car-maker. But even Donald Trump’s right-hand man can’t afford to sit still; a flurry of excellent Chinese electric cars is coming, with the MG 4 and BYD Seal already here.
But while giant conglomerates, tech titans and governments wrestle with all this change, there’s an opportunity for us, the consumer, to bag a bargain…
While dealers in Northern Ireland are offering cut-price new - and nearly-new - electric cars, it’s worth pointing out that even steeper discounts are on offer if you’re prepared to travel to Britain.
Here’s four December EV deals that caught our eye:
Mazda MX-30
Was £31,615, now £18,290, saving £13,325
(Coventry Mazda)
The mediocre range rules it out for most people, but if you can slot a car which struggles to travel more than 100 miles on a full charge into your lifestyle, you’ll find the MX-30 to be a charming, fun-to-drive electric car, with plenty of quirky Mazda touches. Savings of between £9k and £13k are widely available.
Read more: Mazda MX-30 EV joins the rotary club
Jeep Avenger
Was £41,975, now £28,995, saving £12,980
(SG Petch of York)
The chunky little Jeep is highly rated - it was the 2023 Car of the Year - and has a real-world range of more than 200 miles. It’s a struggle to justify at a list price of more than £40k but it’s being heavily discounted at dealers right now, with plenty available in the mid- to high-£20k bracket.
DS 3 E-Tense
Was £43,875, now £27,495, saving £16,380
(DS Salon Stafford)
Discounts of more than a third off the list price are easy to find for the idiosyncratic DS 3 E-Tense. You get a fabulously flamboyant interior and a comfort orientated drive, though the exterior styling won’t be to everyone’s taste.
Read more: DS 3 Crossback: You might love it but I loathed it
Porsche Taycan
Was £115,523, now £94,555, saving £20,968
(Porsche Centre Cambridge)
Most versions of Porsche’s electric rocket ship carry six-figure price tags, but the market seems to be awash with plenty of (relative) bargains.
Read more: Porsche’s Taycan receives comprehensive update with increases in range and performance
