New Automotive January new car sales data: comment – Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit | ECIU
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Comment on figures for January's new car sales released by New Automotive
By Colin Walker
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Commenting on the figures for January’s new car sales released by New Automotive, Colin Walker, Head of Transport at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) said:
“After a record breaking 2025 for EV sales, and a December in which EVs accounted for one in three new cars sold, it shows how high the bar has risen that a market share of over 20% in January may be considered by some to be a little underwhelming. The reality is that EVs still accounted for more than one in five new cars sold and, if 2024 and 2025 are anything to go by, sales will increase as the year progresses.
“Petrol cars drivers pay a ‘petrol premium’ of £1200 [1] a year compared to an EV, taking into account the 3p per mile tax on EVs from 2028. But mixed signals from Government risk creating confusion and holding people back from making the switch to cheaper electric driving, particularly with changes to the ZEV Mandate that could incentivise the sale of PHEVs – which consume 490% more fuel than their manufacturers claim, costing almost £1000 a year more than EVs to own and run [2] – at the expense of EVs. New EV sales matter in part because after a few years they hit the second-hand market and could offer millions of households the chance to save thousands of pounds on driving if enough of them are available.
“There are now over 1.8 million EVs on the UK’s roads, [3] increasingly powered by electrons generated by British wind and solar farms. The country’s charging infrastructure is receiving billions in private investment, while more and more EVs are beginning to roll off British production lines – from the electric Mini in Oxford, to the Nissan Leaf in Sunderland, and the new electric Jags and Land Rovers set to emerge from the West Midlands.”
Notes to editors:
1. The ‘petrol premium’ is the extra annual cost of owning and running a petrol car instead of an EV over the course of its lifetime. It was calculated by taking the top 10 selling petrol cars (‘pure’ petrols and mild hybrids) of 2025 and their electric equivalents, and the top 10 selling electric cars of 2025, and identified petrol equivalents. This allowed for twenty EV vs petrol comparisons. The total lifetime costs of ownership for these vehicles were then calculated (assuming a 14-year lifespan) by using their upfront price, fuelling costs, insurance, servicing and Vehicle Excise Duty. Some future variations in future costs were factored in, including: the introduction of a 3p per mile tax on EVs as of 2028 and a gradual increase in petrol prices in line with the increase in petrol prices we have seen over the past 20 years. For the EVs, it was assumed that 80% of the vehicles’ charging was done at home on cheap night time charging tariffs, and 20% on rapid public chargers (in line with Zapmap’s John and Rosa charging profile). These total costs of ownership were then divided by 14 to give an annual figure for the cost of buying and owning these vehicles over the course of their lifetimes. The difference between the petrol and electric cars were then calculated, providing a figure for the extra ‘premium’ that would need to be paid to own and operate a petrol vehicle for each year of its lifespan. An average figure across all twenty model comparisons was then calculated – giving us the overall ‘petrol premium’ figure of £1200.
2.ECIU: https://eciu.net/media/press-releases/plug-in-hybrids-cost-over-450-a-year-more-to-run-than-manufacturers-claim
3. ZapMap – https://www.zapmap.com/ev-stats/ev-market
For more information or for interview requests:
George Smeeton, Head of Communications, ECIU, Tel: 07894 571 153, email: george.smeeton@eciu.net
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