Brit drivers put brakes on electric cars — with sales lagging behind the rest of market

BRITISH drivers are putting the brakes on electric cars — with sales lagging behind the rest of the car market.

Just 15.2 per cent of all motors sold last month were battery powered — the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said.

That was down from 16.2 per cent last year.

And while the number of new electric vehicles sold rose by 3.8 per cent in March, the growth has been powered entirely by company fleet and business vehicles.

The share of private electric vehicle registrations in the entire battery vehicle market has fallen from 27.3 per cent to 21.5 per cent.

Fleet and business sales now account for 78.5 per cent, up from 72.7 per cent last year, as more firms take advantage of tax incentives.

Mike Hawes, boss of the SMMT, said: “A sluggish private market and shrinking EV market share show the challenge ahead.

“Manufacturers provide compelling offers, but they can’t single-handedly fund the transition.

“Government support for private consumers — not just business and fleets — would send a positive message and deliver a faster, fairer transition on time and on target.”

Car-makers want a VAT cut on electric vehicles and a VAT reduction on public charging points, as drivers pay four times more to charge on the road than at home.

A lack of charging points is also blamed for stifling demand.

Drivers are frustrated about long queues and a lack of chargers in the North, where longer journeys are typical.

There are around a million electric cars on UK roads and just 57,290 charging points, Zapmap says. Jonathan Goodman, head of electric car brand Polestar UK, said: “There is a healthy appetite for electric vehicles in the UK, but we’re only seeing growth in the business fleet markets.

“Private retail sales are clearly facing more of a challenge due to lack of incentives and infrastructure.”

The sluggish growth figures come just days after Tesla, the world’s biggest seller of electric cars, reported a bigger-than-expected fall in sales.

Drivers have also been put off by the higher cost of electric vehicles.

The cheapest is now the Dacia Spring, at £14,999, which is around half the price of the second cheapest, an electric Vauxhall Corsa at £26,895.

A petrol Vauxhall costs from £19,625.

Boohoo loo coup hoodoo who knew?

THE wealthy Kamani family behind online fashion group Boohoo have seen a chunk of their cash go down the toilet after losing money on the takeover of loo roll giant Accrol.

Last month Accrol, which manufactured over one billion loo rolls last year, agreed to a £127.5million bid by Portuguese paper group Navigator.

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However, The Sun can reveal that Mahmud and Aisha Kamani, best known for their fast-fashion empire, were one of Accrol’s biggest investors with a 3.3 per cent stake in 2020.

At the time, the Blackburn-based firm’s shares were trading at 50p-a-share while the bid price by Navigator is just 38p-a-share.

An investor at Momentum Global Investment said the lowball offer was “embarrassing . . .  and an insult to investors”.

Aisha Kamani, who regularly posts pictures of her lavish lifestyle and luxury getaways on Instagram, yesterday trimmed her stake from 1.62 per cent to 1.55 per cent, according to filings.

Bookies bashed

BET365, the online gambling firm owned by Britain’s richest woman, has been fined £582,120 for failing to protect high-risk customers and prevent money-laundering.

The sum is just 0.21 per cent of the £270million pay packet Denise Coates collected last year.

Campaigners at the Gambling with Lives charity called the penalty “pathetic”.

The Gambling Commission said the betting firm’s failures were not as severe as those of rivals — but added repeated failings would lead to “escalating regulatory action”.

THERE are fresh signs the economy is recovering as UK business activity grew for the fifth month in a row.

The much-watched Services Purchasing Managers’ Index was 53.1 in March.

A reading over 50 indicates growth.

Co-op on the up

THE CO-OP’s boss said she is “back in the business of opening more stores” after cutting the chain’s debt and boosting membership.

Shirine Khoury-Haq said profits were £79million better than in 2022, after figures from the sale of garages to Asda were stripped out.

The company’s debt fell from £322million to £82million.

The mutual has 2,400 shops and a million new members joined last year.

Some 70,000 signed up to gain pre-sale gig tickets at the new Co-op Live arena in Manchester.

Thames owner’s sinking

THE owner of Thames Water has had its credit rating pushed even deeper into junk territory amid a “probable” risk of default.

Kemble Water Finance relied on a dividend from Thames Water to repay a £190million loan at the end of the month.

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But Thames Waters’ owners have denied it a cash lifeline.

Fitch Ratings downgraded Kemble Water’s debt to “CC” from “CCC”.

Rival agency S&P issued a negative outlook.

An industry expert said the ratings were expected after Thames and Kemble called the business “uninvestable”.

Two Chinese state-owned banks, Dutch lender ING and Allied Irish Bank, are reportedly owed the £190million.

However, there will be a bigger pool of creditors who lent Kemble £1.35billion of debt.

Thames has said that it is ringfenced from Kemble and has enough cash to survive until May next year.

Energy booster

THOUSANDS of small firms, schools and charities are being given extra protection in their energy contracts.

Many complained suppliers have been aggressively pricing contracts and refusing to amend terms, even when wholesale prices have fallen.

The Government and Ofgem said those with fewer than 50 staff — 99 per cent of all firms — will fall under the Energy Ombudsman’s protection, up from the previous max of ten.

This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk