Electric Cars to Become Affordable in UK by 2030 as Second-Hand Market Grows, Expert Says

Critics say high cost of EVs will remove long-held 'right' to afford a car

A new number plate is put on a brand new Nissan electric car at a dealership in Northampton, England, on Aug. 5, 2022. Blackball Media/PA

A prominent motoring journalist has said that the price of buying an electric car will fall between now and 2030—when the government plans to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars—as the second-hand market grows.

Richard Ingram, editor of carbuyer.co.uk and drivingelectric.com, told The Epoch Times: “Ultimately, I think we need to bide our time. Electric cars are becoming mainstream, but the rate at which they’ve grown in popularity is unprecedented. Remember that when internal combustion engine cars were in their infancy, you'd buy petrol over the counter from your local chemist.”

Ingram said: “By the end of the decade, early mainstream EVs like the Nissan Leaf or Renault Zoe will be 20 years old. While I’m not suggesting you‘ll be able to pick one up for £200 like you might a 2003 Vauxhall Corsa today, there will be plenty of choice on the used market for far less than you’d pay today.”

“If almost one-in-four new cars sold in 2023 is electric, think of how many will inevitably return to dealership forecourts in three years’ time. New-car demand subsequently affects used-car supply, with the latter surely priced accordingly further down the line. Furthermore, with fewer moving parts, I suspect EVs will be measurably more reliable long into the future,” he added.

Conservative MP Steve Brine told a special debate in Westminster Hall on Wednesday that “supply and cost are major barriers right now” to people switching over to electric vehicles, and he said he felt the current target—that all new vehicles would emit zero emissions by 2035—may be “beyond us.”

After battery-making startup Britishvolt went into administration last month, Andy Mayer, chief operating officer and energy analyst at the Institute of Economic Affairs, told The Epoch Times that the British government should walk away from the project or risk the creation of an uneconomic UK battery industry that would force up the price of electric cars.

For 50 Years People Have ‘Taken for Granted’ They Can Afford a Car

Mayer told The Epoch Times: “The risk of the government’s approach is that not only will they miss the environmental targets, which they certainly will, but that they will produce a situation where something the British population has taken for granted for going on 50 years—that they can afford and have the right to an automobile—will disappear.”

But Ingram said: “I’m not convinced the transition to electric is going to do much to change who can or can’t afford a new car. It’s true that there are fewer ‘cheap’ EVs than there are petrol or diesel cars, but even a Ford Focus will set you back more than £27,000 in today’s market. An all-electric MG4, offering similar space, practicality, and convenience features, actually starts from a few hundred pounds less.”

Volvo Cars electric car model, the Volvo C40 Recharge, is pictured in Stockholm, Sweden, on March 2, 2021. Claudio Bresciani/TT News Agency/AFP via Getty Images

Ingram predicted an influx of new brands and cheaper models—and especially from Chinese car makers, who are little known in the UK—over the next few years.

But he said: “Not wishing to be outdone, legacy car makers acknowledge there is a dearth of affordable EVs. Last year, Volkswagen CEO Thomas Schäfer told us VW’s forthcoming small electric car will cost ‘well below 25,000 euros.’”

Ingram said 90 percent of motorists now lease their cars or use finance to purchase them, and he said there are some new electric vehicles currently available at around £200 per month.

Second-Hand Petrol and Diesel Cars Will Still Be Available

“We must remember that the 2030 cut-off for combustion-engine models only applies to new cars. The government isn’t suggesting for a second that we'll be unable to buy or run second-hand petrol or diesel cars, nor is there any hint that these models will be unduly taxed, ignoring any current or future low-emission zones,” said Ingram.

Wera Hobhouse, the Liberal Democrats’ energy, climate, and transport spokesperson, told the Westminster Hall debate on Wednesday: “Car journeys need to become net zero. The transition from petrol and diesel to electric vehicles is at the heart of this.”

She said: “The government’s pledge to end the sale of all petrol and diesel cars by 2030, and hybrids by 2035, has acted as a powerful signal to the car industry and the markets. But the failure to prepare the ground for the transition to electric cars—the car charging infrastructure—is now threatening that very target.”

Transport minister Huw Merriman told the debate industry data showed that in December 2022, 32.9 percent of new cars sold were fully electric.

Merriman said: “We’re moving away from subsidising individuals buying electric vehicles, we’re moving more to a mandate now that will incentivise car manufacturers to produce the electric vehicles and, if they don’t, then they will end up being penalised. That is our future philosophy.”