(March 8, 2022) LONDON — An unexpected decline in interest in electric vehicles on the United Kingdom Auto Trader marketplace could spell trouble for the Government’s green transport plans. Pure electric vehicles accounted for 11.6% of new car sales in 2021, up from 6.6% in 2020, but the headline figures tell a misleading story. Auto Trader, the UK’s leading online automotive marketplace, has long been warning that the sky-high price of EVs could derail efforts to wean motorists off petrol and diesel vehicles.

Now, in its latest Road to 2030 report, published today, Auto Trader reveals that the proportion of electric cars viewed on its marketplace has dropped from a high of 26% in late September 2021 when the gas  crisis took hold, to just 16% in February.

Auto Trader receives 65 million visits to its marketplace each month. Most people are still searching for gas and diesel vehicles, however interest remains largely flat. The bright spot is hybrid vehicles as they saw very strong growth, increasing from 14% to 20% of all new car searches (up from 9% in February 2021).

The fuel supply crisis in September and October had only a temporary effect on interest in electric vehicles. “We saw a huge spike at the time,” said Erin Baker, Editorial Director of Auto Trader, “but in reality, it was just a blip.

Whilst the gap between the cost of new EVs and a new gas and diesel cars has narrowed very marginally, EVs are still 37% more expensive on average. The gap between hybrids and gas/diesel cars is significantly narrower at 6%. And it’s not just brand-new EVs commanding a "green premium;" there is also a significant differential in the used electric market where EV models are on average £8,000 more expensive than their gas/diesel equivalents.

“When you look at the demographic profile of people who are currently searching for electric cars on Auto Trader you see it’s predominantly older, richer people living in affluent parts of the country, a trend at odds with the "normal" profile of early technology adopters who tend to be young and metropolitan” said Erin Baker, editorial director of Auto Trader.

The Company’s Road to 2030 analysis shows that on Auto Trader the number of EV models priced under £20,000 dropped from 11 in 2020 to just three in 2021. It also shows very limited choice within body types. There were, for example, just four new EV models in the sedan category in 2021 versus 36 new gas and diesel models.