2021 sales see electric switch
TESLA LEADS CHARGE IN SLOW YEAR
NEW car sales grew by just 1% last year – despite record demand for electric vehicles.
Figures out today will reveal around 1.65 million cars were bought.
“It is a bleak picture and not what we hoped for,” admitted Mike Hawes, chief executive of trade body the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, which published the data.
The supply of new cars was hit by a global shortage of semiconductors – chips used throughout modern cars.
Yet while sales of petrol and diesels fell, 190,000 electric cars were sold in 2021, and made up over 25% of sales in December.
More electric vehicles were registered in 2021 than the past five years combined,
Shares in model railway maker Hornby jumped yesterday after it confirmed the appointment of entrepreneur Henry De Zoete as a director.
De Zoete, who founded energy switching service Look After My Bills, and appeared on Dragons’ Den, said: “Hornby, Scalextric, Corgi, Humbrol and Airfix are all heritage brands that I grew up with.” with Tesla’s Model 3 the second-best selling model after the Vauxhall Corsa.
However, most electric cars were bought by companies, along with drivers in London and the South East. Hawes called for Government action to boost take-up among private buyers across the country, and criticised ministers for cutting the value of grants.
The Department for Transport said the grant change was to “help more people” but Hawes said it gave a “confusing message” for buyers.
A lack of supply was good news for car dealers who increased profit margins.
Elsewhere, van sales surged 21% to 355,000 last year, but bus sales fell as Covid hit demand for public transport.
Economic growth in the eurozone slowed to a nine-month low in Dece amid a wave of Omicr infections. Economic powe Germany suffered the big slowdown, a report ou yesterday from IHS Markit found.
High street veteran and former Asda boss Andy Bond is stepping down from Pepco, parent company of Poundland, for health reasons. Bond, 56, said: “Every great journey must come to an end and it is with much reluctance that I have decided now is the right time to focus my energies on my health.”