Britain faces an EV ‘crisis’ due to lack of government support, according to the UK boss of Fiat.
Damien Daly, managing director of Fiat UK, has criticised the government for refusing to reinstate its plug-in car grants, which were withdrawn in 2022. The lack of new incentives for the electric car market is worrying many within the motor manufacturing industry, which is gearing up to change its production business model in preparation for the ban of the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2035.
Following a House of Lords report which called for more incentives to be introduced, the government defended its record, saying it was targeting its incentives where they have ‘the most impact and deliver the greatest value for money’.
After the March Budget included no new EV incentives, Daly expressed his concerns by warning of an impending crisis.
“With confirmation that no electric car grant is going to be reintroduced, we would say the Government is now well and truly on the cusp of that crisis”, he said.
“Half a million electric and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) vehicles were registered during 2023, which is fantastic news. But the EV market for private buyers is in real jeopardy, accounting for fewer than one in five (18.2%) new electric cars registered in 2024.”
“Whilst we welcome that there is an incentive in place for electric van buyers, we know the biggest barrier to entry for a retail electric car buyer is price. Surely, then, the greatest impact would be to address this by helping to reduce the upfront cost of the car, via the reintroduction of a Government grant”, said Daly.
