The UK Government’s Electric Car Grant (ECG) scheme has come into full force last month with a numerous models from 11 different manufacturers being included. In total 28 EV models that have been included in the scheme, with the ‘Ford Puma Gen-E’ and the ‘Ford e-Tourneo Courier’ being the first models to be eligible for discounts up to £3,750. Further manufacturers who have models eligible for discounts up to £1,500 include, Nissan, Volkswagen, Vauxhall, Skoda, Peugeot, DS, Toyota, Cupra, Renault and Citroen.

The grant can be applied to vehicles listed at £37,000 or lower. Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander, said last month: “This is about backing drivers, putting money back into people’s pockets and creating the jobs and growth that will drive Britain forward, delivering on our Plan for Change.”

Tellingly the grant does not apply to Chinese made vehicles, however this did not prevent BYD breaking into the top 10 most registered EVs over the last 12 months for the first time, with almost 20,000 new EV registrations over this period. Further to this, BYD have registered over 11,000 hybrid models in the UK over the same period. Even with ECG backed discounts, Chinese manufacturer price points are clearly going to be difficult for legacy OEMs to compete with.

Vehicles on the Road Data

Despite global reports to the contrary, Tesla have not only moved back into the top 5 but have resumed 1^st place for new BEV registrations for the month of August, with 3,243 new registrations recorded. Hyundai are a new entrant for the top 5 in August, with Audi and Skoda dropping out. BMW and Ford retain their places. Volkswagen remain hot on the heels of Telsa both in terms of numbers recorded last month and over the last year, with around 8,000 fewer new registrations recorded in the last 12 months. Despite this, the UK BEV car park paints a different picture with over 240,000 Teslas on the road, compared with just over 100,000 BEVs for both Volkswagen and BMW (their two nearest rivals).

As mentioned earlier, BYD have broken into the top 10, replacing their compatriots, MG , who have recorded around 200 fewer new registrations than BYD over the same period.

Accident Repair Costs Data

BEV crash volumes continue to increase with Gecko having recorded 12,462 repairs for the month of August. By contrast, average repair costs continue to trend downwards. An increase in BEV crash volumes are obviously a direct result of the rapid increase in number of BEVs on the road, however it will be interesting to understand how policymakers react to these two trends. Clearly this is data that both repairers and insurers cannot afford to ignore.

Across the top 5 observed models, average repair costs have been markedly flat. Especially for Tesla where they have not fluctuated by more than 1% over the last two months. We have seen a bit more of drop for Mercedes and Audi, bringing their average repair costs closer to that of BMW, but no huge movements.

Keeping one eye on Chinese manufacturers, Gecko recorded 345 BYD accidents last month, with an average repair cost of £2,248. This remains relatively low compared to some of the other less expensive BEV manufacturers, but it should be noted does not consider Gecko’s write-off data, nor will some of the lengthier repairs be realised until next month or even later. As mentioned in previous reports, Chinese manufacturers tend to control their own supply chain, and therefore Parts Costs remain extremely competitive compared to European manufacturers, whereas Labour Costs and Cycle Times can be much higher.

Average Accident Repair Costs by Manufacturer – Last 3 Months

n.b. Repair Costs are inclusive of discounts, but excluding tax.

EV Repair Costs – Breakdown

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