Battery Electric Vehicle News / Enjoying the Transportation Revolution

diygardening

Apologies if this is the wrong forum for this question, but I understand the chancellor has cancelled the "premium rate" VED on pure battery electric cars where the manufacturer's on the road price exceeds £40,000 effective 1st April 2020. Assuming that this also includes all BEVs purchased prior to 1st April 2020, is it possible to claim back that part of any "premium rate" VED already paid that covers April 2020 and beyond?

EricMears

I haven't seen any official method of reclaiming that although if you can keep the car off the road for a few days you can invoke the SORN procedure which will trigger a refund for the number of whole months' tax that you've prepaid and when you next 'tax' it you'll be asked for £0.00 for the next year.

Martyn1981

Extract from this week's Carbon Commentary newsletter:

10, Electric car sales. European sales fell by more than 50% in March compared to a year earlier. But in many countries, electric vehicles saw increases in volumes, and therefore a major growth in market share. As usual, Norway was the leading market. Half of all sales were pure battery and including plug-in hybrids the total was over three quarters. The share of plug-in cars sold in Belgium (battery and hybrids) rose sharply to 9%, more than three times the level of a year ago. Sales of pure battery cars tripled in the UK over the year, and the share rose to 4.6%, over five times the level of March 2019. Sweden saw a 79% rise in plug-in sales, now achieving a 28% share. In most economic recessions, expensive goods see a disproportionate fall in sales so the resilience of EV volumes seems particularly remarkable.

Martyn1981

I'm not sure if this is BEV news, or just a reflection of the collapse in ICE sales that Renault (and Nissan) are seeing in China. So a possible BEV positive, or an ICE negative?

Renault Halts Gas & Diesel Car Sales In China, Will Focus On EVs

French automaker Renault has been selling conventional gas- and diesel-fueled vehicles in China for years through a joint-venture with China’s Dongfeng Motor Group. That partnership is set to end, however, as Renault has announced it has no plans to continue selling ICE-powered vehicles in the world’s largest auto market. That doesn’t mean Renault is leaving China, however — it just means that Renault is going all electric, all the time.

François Provost, chairman of Renault for China, called the move to an electric-only model “a new chapter in China” for the company. And, curiously, said that the move would “more efficiently leverage our relationship with Nissan.” That last comment is interesting because rumors of a growing rift between the two companies had been swirling in the months leading up to the COVID-19 crisis that has crippled much of the global economy — automakers, especially.

NigeWick

Martyn1981 said:

I'm not sure if this is BEV news, or just a reflection of the collapse in ICE sales that Renault (and Nissan) are seeing in China. So a possible BEV positive, or an ICE negative?

China specific I expect as the Chinese want to lead the world in BEVs.

Martyn1981

Ignore the headline, article on French EV sales, and a thought (from me).
The article reports a massive drop in demand for ICE's, as a result of the pandemic, but EV sales have risen, and BEV sales are at nearly 9% for March (against a reduced total), with both BEV and PHEV sales up 19%. So ....... if demand has collapsed, justifiably, and this is reflected in a massive drop in ICE sales, but not EV sales, then does that mean that the drop in EV demand, takes it down to a level that is still higher than supply?

Obviously there could be multiple factors at play here, and it's a crazy time, but I think this supports the argument that EV sales are heavily supply restrained, not demand limited?????

Tesla Model 3 = Best Selling Foreigner In France In Pandemic-Affected Market

Yes, the French plug-in passenger car market grew just 19%, while in previous months it was experiencing 3-digit growth rates. However, when the overall market falls off a cliff, like it did last month, having any kind of growth rate is positive, let alone an immense 19% growth.
Funny enough, both powertrains had the same behavior, with fully electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) each growing 19%.
The positive plug-in performance added to the steep drop of the overall market meant that last month’s plug-in vehicle (PEV) market share rose to 12% (8.8% for BEVs alone), pulling the 2020 PEV share to 9.7%, well above of the 2.8% of 2019.

zeupater

Hi

Just need to be aware that a major factor could be the lead time on EVs resulting in masking the position & the press/analysts haven't considered the possibility .... probably take an extra month or two to see if it's actually a trend or just an anomaly!

HTH - Z

 

Martyn1981

Big battery build begins in the US, and a small but growing demand for EV's in S. Korea:

Work Begins On GM/LG Chem GigaPower Battery Factory

According to a report by the Tribune Chronicle, GM expects the factory to be operational by January of 2022 and to employ 1,100 workers. When completed, it will be able to produce 30 GWh of battery cells annually — enough for 500,000 cars, according to an LG Chem press release.

Tesla Model 3 = 45% of South Korea’s Electric Vehicle Market

We report on plug-in vehicle sales in many markets, but we’ve only reported on South Korea’s electric vehicle sales twice over the years. Perhaps it’s time to start giving this major economy more attention. Electric vehicle (EV) market share in South Korea rose to 3.3% in March, and 2.3% in the first quarter as a whole.

JKenH

Martyn1981 said:

Tesla Model 3 = 45% of South Korea’s Electric Vehicle Market

At the equivalent of $27000 no wonder

https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/tesla-model-3-south-korea-sales-subsidies/

Martyn1981

Hopefully a beneficial side effect of C19.

Clean Air Is Helping People Consider Electric Cars

This is something we’ve been wondering on the rooftop terrace of CleanTechnica world headquarters in Asgard, Florida — with all the fresh air from not driving, and the beautiful pics of places like Los Angeles sans smog, will people consider clean electric cars more than they have?

Venson Automotive Solutions reports that 45% of the people it recently surveyed in the UK indicated they were thinking about going electric today due to air quality concerns. That’s up from previous surveys, presumably in part due to people leaving their cars parked to a degree the world has never seen before and skies clearing up as a result. Perhaps there’s also just more concern about respiratory problems in the midst of a respiratory-related pandemic.

“Of the 45% of motorists who are now reassessing their EV options, 19% said their next company car or private purchase would be an EV, with the remaining 26% confirming they intend to become an EV driver in the next 5 years.  In an EV attitudes survey conducted by Venson in July 2019, 41% of people said they were considering moving to an EV, but 31% said that they wouldn’t for another 10-15 years, confirming the intention by many to play their part in protecting the environment has since accelerated.”