The UK reached the milestone in June and the number of electric cars in the country is likely to overtake France later this year, according to Berlin-based car analyst Matthias Schmidt. The number of electric cars on UK roads has risen from fewer than 100,000 in 2019 as carmakers began mass-producing them to meet tougher carbon dioxide emissions regulations and impending bans on petrol and diesel cars. to be released by 2035 in the UK and EU. The figures mean that pure electric cars account for around 1.2% of the 40.5 million cars on British roads, but this share is expected to rise rapidly as manufacturers launch new models. Production of electric cars in the UK in May was double what it was a year earlier, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, a lobby group. A fifth of the electric cars on British roads were made by Tesla, the American electric car company run by Elon Musk. Demand for electric cars has outstripped supply for several years – even though the government has gradually reduced subsidies to zero since June. But sales have been held back by a lack of supply from both manufacturers underestimating demand and component shortages – mainly computer chips – that have affected the entire industry. Schmidt said the UK could have hit the 500,000 mark sooner had it not been for these disruptions, including the production of cables made in Ukraine. They combine electrical cables that control different systems in a car. Subscribe to the Business Today daily email or follow Guardian Business on Twitter @BusinessDesk “Given the supply shortage headwinds, cable production disruptions in Ukraine, as well as Covid disruptions in China – slowing goods leaving the Chinese market – production at European auto plants was subsequently bruised and battered,” he said. “The UK, which is the market that absorbs the most EU-made cars worldwide, has also suffered from this lack of supply.” Schmidt added that manufacturers were forced to prioritize the UK for deliveries of battery cars in order to meet CO2 emissions targets. Automakers face hefty fines if they fail to reduce the average emissions of the cars they sell quickly enough. The targets were originally introduced by the EU, but the UK copied them into law after Brexit. When the UK was in the EU, manufacturers could balance the bigger, more polluting cars preferred by Britons with smaller, lower-emitting vehicles preferred in markets such as Italy, but this is no longer the case.
