EVs fail to generate much interest in Europe

Electric vehicle (EV) sales continue to be sluggish despite an array of subsidy programs, according to new research from JATO Dynamics.

Incentive schemes do not equal increased sales, as analysis of European EV sales figures for the first half of 2011 shows.

• Although in Denmark tax exclusions can add up to as much as €20,588, there were only 283 registrations
• Spain and the UK have similar subsidies but the UK registered almost five times the volume of Spain (599 versus 122) in the period
• Germany leads market with 1,020 EV registrations, that’s despite one of the lowest subsidies in the region of €380
• Total European EV registrations were just 5222

VP for research at JATO, Gareth Hession, said: “It’s clear that the EV market is set for significant growth and we are at the early stages of its development. "As the market matures we might expect subsidies to exert greater influence as other considerations such as charging infrastructure are addressed. “As it stands today, even the large subsidies don’t address the majority of end-user concerns around real world application, flexibility and fitness for purpose. “It will be critical for manufacturers to better understand these factors if they are to maximise customer engagement and sales growth.” He concludes: “The research might suggest that the price of EVs is still too high to be accessible to the mainstream market in Europe. In addition, at this early stage in the market’s development the current sales figures could also be skewed by contracts between manufacturers, local government and large institutions designed to raise the profile of EVs."