Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past year or so, you’d know that the shift in demand and attitude towards electric vehicles has changed rather dramatically. Once seen as a bit of a fad, or a loophole that car manufacturers could take advantage of to pass certain requirements set by the government, has now flourished into a truly massive sector for the motor industry.
2021 was actually the biggest of all for the EV, where one in six cars sold were a plug-in electric vehicle of some kind, and a total of 190,727 joined Britain’s roads. Looking specifically at the models that helped reach that impressive figure, the Tesla Model 3 is the shining star of the bunch. 9,612 were sold in December 2021 alone, rounding off a total of 34,783 for the entire year, putting it firmly at the second place spot of the UK’s best selling cars. For context, just next to them on the podium in third place was MINI, which doesn’t relate to models like the Countryman or Hatch, it’s ALL MINIs.
So our question in the title of the article is just that, is 2022 the year that everyone jumps into electric cars? It certainly suggests it could be – but this doesn’t mean the trust combustion engine is going away just yet. Following billions of pounds of investment into new technology by manufacturers, more than 40% of models are now available as plug-ins, with hybrids being at the core of this change.
Let’s talk predictions – It seems the biggest issue people have right now is deciding what combination actually works for their lifestyle, as well as their pocket. Fully electric cars are likely (and hopefully) going to increase their range, and decrease their prices. The first part of that seems to be already in motion, with Tesla recently announcing they are working on a next-gen battery that can cruise over 750 miles on a single charge – that’s what we like to see.
In regards to the price debate – yes, EVs are currently too expensive. A base spec Vauxhall Corsa-E starts from a staggering £26,640, and currently offers a range of 209 miles. When you consider the cheapest combustion engine version starts at a mere £17,380 – it’s easy to see why people aren’t queuing out the door for the EV version. But, as more and more EVs arrive on Britain’s roads, the more will eventually appear on the used car market, broadening the appeal even further.
According to Google Trends, the searches for ‘used electric car’ are consistently high over the year, with cars like the Hyundai Ioniq and many Kia models regularly appearing as the highest searched vehicles.
Elliot is our resident tech-lover and petrolhead, who is in charge of spreading AdFeeder to the masses! Having previously worked with brands such as Porsche and BMW, Elliot specialises in content creation and social media.
