SPARKING JOY?

Chief Partnerships Officer at Leasing.com, Paul Harrison, says new car consumer demand contradicts the recent wave of negative publicity surrounding electric vehicles.

Chief Partnerships Officer at Leasing.com, Paul Harrison, says new car consumer demand contradicts the recent wave of negative publicity surrounding electric vehicles. For a vehicle that is almost silent in operation, EVs are making a considerable amount of noise. The recent debate in the press around EV popularity, range anxiety, infrastructure shortages and the looming 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel cars has generated some uncertainty. Or so it seems. Certainly there has been a wave of print and broadcast media coverage in recent months that seem to suggest that some individuals and businesses are falling out of love with electric vehicles, before many motorists have had the chance to enjoy the romance.

A recent article in The Sun, for example, with a screaming headline of ‘Sparks Gone’, seemed to suggest that EV drivers were abandoning their vehicles ‘in their droves’ and racing back to petrol. Photographs appeared across various digital platforms over the Christmas and New Year Bank Holiday periods of frustrated drivers queuing for hours for their turn to charge. And The Sunday Times also ran an article recently that similarly led with the message that Britain’s EV revolution ‘risks coming unplugged’.

Unpicking The Facts

Some of these stories can be easily countered and unpicked. A recent study from Zap-map, for example, showed that 98% of EV drivers would not switch back to electric, which instantly counters The Sun’s hyperbole regarding almost universal dissatisfaction within the EV driver fraternity. Some stories are more challenging. Range anxiety in relation to charging infrastructure appears more rooted in fact, but even then the picture is mixed, and it depends on who you ask.

Ask Liberty Charge, for example, and it appears that the UK is a long-way short of meeting its infrastructure targets, and if it continues at its current pace, those targets will not be reached. The picture, however, is a complicated one, since all elements of ‘infrastructure’ need to be considered, including both on-street and offstreet charging. If one considers that at least 11 million households have no access to off-street EV charging, then that is bound to have an impact on EV adoption. Electric, like all vehicle fuel types, isn’t necessarily right for everyone right now. Local Authorities also appear to be slow to react – some admitting to having no future EV charging strategy – and that has to be a concern. The Government may be making investment available, but access to that investment depends on having a coherent strategy in place.

Ask Swarco Smart Charging and a similar picture emerges, and the need for greater urgency is clear. Its pioneering work around the creation of charging ‘hubs’ however, to support the charging of higher volumes of EVs, and to a higher power are proving especially popular both with taxis and private vehicles and developed with the full support of the local authorities. ‘Traditional’ petrol forecourts are adopting a larger number of charging points, and in some cases, have converted to be fully electric. This trend will only continue, as is the trend for the increasing use of complementary technologies including solar car ports and energy storage solutions.

Emerging Infrastructure

New ‘models’ are also emerging and new players – businesses that build, own and operate, but whose models are still dependent on reliable thirdparty technology, maintenance and services. Such is the interest in EVs, that many fossil-fuel companies are either acquiring or launching their own solutions as are many in the construction and utilities sectors. Partly this is being driven, by the need for self-preservation, but it has the effect of keeping the market keen and driving further innovation. Neither business is complacent. Both acknowledge the scale of the challenge. New Automotive’s ‘On the Road to 2030’ report, and in particular its important recommendation that the uptake of EVs must not be slowed ‘in order for infrastructure to catch up’ achieves wide support. But its claim that the industry is ‘on track’ to deliver the Government’s ambition of 300,000 public EV charge points by 2030 is being challenged. Zap-Map figures show there were 8,886 public electric vehicle charge points installed in 2022. While this represents a 30%-35% annual increase, it is also less than a third of the 27,000 public chargers a year that the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) estimate would have to be installed each year to meet future demand.

So perhaps despite, rather than because of, the future roll-out of EV infrastructure, and media headlines, the popularity for EVs remains high, and our data does not point to any dampening down of enthusiasm. Leasing. com statistics show that leasing demand for battery electric vehicles (BEVs) outperformed the overall new BEV market last year, even when factoring in consumers adjusting their vehicle preferences following the cost-of-living crisis.

Changing Consumer Behaviours

End of year data shows a step change in consumer behaviour when it comes to choosing a family car. In a year that saw fuel shortages, fuel price hikes, supply chain issues and a country wrestling with the cost-of-living crisis, the automotive market had its fair share of challenges.

New vehicle registrations for 2022 were down 2% on 2021 to 1.61 million units. Wider macro-economic and supply chain issues continued to affect availability and dictate new car demand with the Nissan

Qashqai, Kia Sportage and Hyundai Tucson outperforming other established brands to become the stars of the 2022 leasing market.

One constant theme of 2022, notwithstanding the challenges, was the continued surge in demand for electric vehicles. All electric vehicles (plugin, hybrid and battery) accounted for 35% of total demand seen on Leasing.com, up 18% on the demand seen in 2021. Data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) shows BEVs accounted for 17% of new car sales last year, whereas BEV demand on Leasing.com outperformed the market accounting for 19% of total sales enquiries – an increase of 15% on 2021 BEV demand.

Perhaps not surprisingly, demand for diesel continued to decline last year with diesel-engined vehicles accounting for 11% of Leasing.com sales enquiries, down from a market share of 17% in 2021.

Latest Statistics

Looking at our most recent data, exclusively for EV Powered, sales enquiries for BEV and hybrid vehicles via Leasng.com more than doubled in January 2023 compared to December 2022.

BEV enquiries rose by 111% whereas enquiries into hybrid models rose by 79%. It is interesting to note that this was just at the point that negative publicity was at its height, suggesting that individuals and businesses were not swayed the media headlines at the time.

Enquiries on the most popular of BEV, the Tesla Model 3, also rose significantly following Tesla’s publicized price reductions, and with the number of brand new BEVs being launched ever-increasing there really is something for everyone to choose from. Despite the impact of the cost-ofliving crisis on household budgets, demand for electric vehicles remain buyant and we are expecting EVs to account for a record 30% of the total vehicle demand seen on our website this year. Leasing remains the most cost-effective way for motorists to access the latest EV models and technology.

PAUL HARRISON Chief Partnerships Officer at Leasing.com

Following on from the Audi skysphere roadster in 2021, and both the Audi grandsphere saloon and the Audi urbansphere space concept in April 2022, the Audi activesphere concept marks the culmination of sphere concept vehicles and takes the shape of a fourdoor crossover coupé.

Exterior Design

Standing at 4.98 meters long, 2.07 meters wide, and 1.60 meters high, the activesphere will have a large wheelbase of 2.97 meters, providing maximum legroom for passengers.

The body will consist of short front and rear overhangs which will combine to give the impression of a compact design, despite it being one of the longest cars produced by Audi. The sleek, monolithic architecture gives a smooth, flowing transition from the front to the rear of the vehicle, with dramatic features such as the wheel arches and underride guard highlighting the vehicles off-road capabilities.

With large, 22-inch wheels and its impressive ground clearance will enable the activesphere to cope with rugged terrain, whilst the roof arch retains the desirable sports car aesthetic. The wheels feature movable segments: when used off-road, they open for optimum ventilation, and they close on-road for optimum aerodynamics. The camera mirrors on the two front doors are also designed specifically to minimize drag.

The Audi activesphere’s ground clearance is also variable; ideal for off-road use, it can be increased by 40 millimetres from the basic height of 208 millimetres, or lowered by the same amount when driving on-road. This benefits both the centre of gravity and aerodynamics when driving fast. The approach angle of the Audi activesphere – relevant for offroad drives - is 18.9 degrees, the departure angle 28.1 degrees.

The variable ground clearance is a nod to the Audi ‘allroads’ of the 2000’s, and the activesphere marks the first time that a car