Will the UK watch the EV race from the back seat?
The UK could be left behind in global electric vehicle (EV) uptake by 2030. Thats one of the findings of a new report by clean transport campaign group Transport & Environment, which estimates the UK could produce just 4% of the EVs made in Europe by the end of the decade. The UK is forecast to have the lowest per capita production of battery electric cars of major car-producing countries, the authors of the report suggest. While half of the cars made in Europe will be battery electric by 2030, just a quarter of the vehicles made in the UK will be, Transport & Environment predicts. The data shows that just three years ago, in 2018, the UK produced roughly half of all electric cars built in Europe. The analysis attributes this prediction to a chronic lack of investments made by car manufacturers. UK Director of Transport and Environment, Greg Archer said: The UK will be among the first countries in Europe to end the sale of new cars with a combustion engine, but these will be overwhelmingly imported without companies investing here. UK car industry dinosaurs will be extinct within a decade unless they invest in new battery manufacturing and convert existing production to electric models.