The UK public has viewed EV adverts 4.5 million times since the Government launched its £3,750 Electric Car Grant, says Autotrader.
The figures represent a rise of 20% or 750,000 views compared to the previous quarter – and shows consumer interest in cars eligible for the grants more than doubling, up 118%. Views for petrol cars increased by 2% to almost 6.5 million.
Ian Plummer, Chief Commercial Officer at Autotrader, said: “The Electric Car Grant has clearly fired the imagination of consumers as we can see from the big jump in traffic on our marketplace for eligible models – particularly at the affordable end of the spectrum.
“Potential switchers have already seen a big rise in choice since 2019 but the grant is helping to close the affordability gap and sparking greater competition across the market, making electric driving a realistic option for far more people.
“There is clear momentum toward electrification, not just in sales, but in the breadth of choice and innovation across brands and price points.”
Enquiries for new EVs are up 44% in the three months since the ECG grants were introduced. Non-eligible models have seen a 24% rise in interest as many manufacturers introduced their own grant-style discounts.
Advert views on new EV models with an advertised price below £30k increased 27%, from 850k to just under 1.1 million. The most popular ECG eligible model on Autotrader was the Renault 5 E-tech with almost 175,000 advert views since the Grant launched.
Used EVs are the fastest selling fuel type for the third month in a row, leaving the forecourts in 27 days on average, compared to 28 days for petrol and 31 for diesels.
The upfront price gap between EVs and petrol models has narrowed to 19%, down from 34% in 2023.
The number of new EVs advertised for under £30,000 on Autotrader has risen from 47 to 58, while models above £40,000 have shrunk from 59 to 53. Average discounts have deepened to 13.5% for models under £37,000 and 11.2% for those above.
