There is a perception among some within the market that ‘take-off’ of electric vehicles is stalling, but that thought is misguided with environmental factors and political will ensuring that electrification of the car parc is here to stay.
That was the consensus of ARC360’s second online Breakfast Think Tank, which considered the current status of EV momentum within the claims and vehicle repair markets. The answer, it appears, depends on who you ask.
Customer demand is setting the pace but it is not what some providers expected.
Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) accounted for one in six new cars registered in 2023, with the majority taken by business and fleet buyers who benefit from tax incentives. In contrast, one in 11 private buyers chose a BEV.
“EVs aren’t yet getting real traction,” said one panellist. “Only customers who already have an EV really want one. For everyone else it is simply too ‘terrifying’. There’s work to be done but it is a real opportunity for the sector.”
ZEV mandate
However, despite increasingly tepid interest from drivers, a result partly of negative media coverage, political momentum is still firmly behind EVs and January saw the introduction of the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Mandate – which sets increasingly stringent EV sales targets for manufacturers and imposes financial penalties for each model below those targets.
“Some still don’t think EVs will catch on,” said one panellist. “They think the bubble has burst. But if you think EVs are dead, you’re likely very wrong.”
There are though, substantial challenges – and not least in the repair sector where some businesses have invested heavily in training, equipment and facilities in readiness but, as yet, are not seeing the repair volumes to back it up.
Total losses
“Many repairers aren’t actually getting many EV repairs,” said one panellist from the sector.
“EVs are seemingly written-off too quickly currently,” said another. “We’ve seen an upturn in the number of total losses because of anticipated challenges around parts availability and residual values.
“And it appears there is still a lack of understanding about what it takes to repair an EV. There needs to an industry-wide catch-up around recovery and transport, and greater understanding of how the repair processes differ from internal combustion engine vehicles.”
Consumer decides
Of course, ultimately it will be the consumer who decides which direction the industry goes. There are now more than a million EVs on UK roads but interest, particularly among private buyers is seemingly ‘lukewarm’ at best and a lack of government support is not helping.
“Consumer uptake has not been there,” said another panellist. “Seemingly many drivers are even going from EVs to hybrids, so I think the EV market is in a really turbulent place right now.”
