(Bloomberg) -- Almost one in three new cars registered in the UK last month were fully electric as automakers keep slashing prices of plug-in models to avoid fines.
Sales of battery-powered models jumped around 60% to nearly 44,000 units in December from a year earlier, according to preliminary data by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. EVs accounted for 31% of registrations, their highest monthly share in two years.
Despite the year-end surge, automakers failed to hit the annual target of 22% under the country’s EV sales mandate. Manufacturers face fines of as much as £15,000 ($18,600) per vehicle for failing to comply, though can avoid penalties by using a credits-trading system and exceeding requirements in later years.
The UK government is now reviewing the rules, which could result in increased flexibilities to help manufacturers meet them. Clean-energy advocates have criticized efforts to water down the quota, arguing doing so will slow the shift away from the combustion engine.
The EV sales target rises to 28% this year, which SMMT Chief Executive Officer Mike Hawes said will be very difficult to meet. Discounts fueling current demand are unsustainable, he told reporters.
EV sales have held up better in the UK than in the European Union, where the removal of incentives in markets including Germany has stifled demand. But even in the UK, only one in ten private buyers chose an EV in 2024, with business and fleet customers driving much of the demand.
Stellantis NV cited the UK mandate when it announced plans in November to stop making Vauxhall vans at its Luton plant after 120 years of vehicle production there.
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