Hybrid Motor Sales Are Surging Amid Diesel Decline

The thirst for alternatively fuelled vehicles continues to be a big topic in motor trade news, as fresh research shows hybrids are selling much faster than this time last year.

Research from Motors.co.uk has found that hybrids are selling faster than ever, on the Motors platform at least. There was a reduction in sale time from 29 days in August 2017, to 21 days in September 2017, which is a huge reduction compared to September 2016’s figure of 80 days. 

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Phill Jones, Motors Managing Director, said: “This time last year hybrid models were taking 80 days to sell. The drop to 21, compared to diesel and petrol cars, signals a significant change in consumer desire for these models, albeit from a relatively small segment of the overall market.

“Electric cars are also selling faster month-on-month, so this shift to alternative fuel types will be interesting to monitor over the coming months.”

So far this year over 80,000 hybrid cars have been sold in the UK with 24,276 of those being plug-in hybrids and 57,904 being regular hybrid cars, reports the Express.

With consumer options starting to be restricted to electric only or hybrid vehicles, the numbers will only rise. Jaguar Land Rover is the latest manufacturer to announce their intention to limit their engine options to hybrid/electric. Following in the footsteps of Volvo, who announced that all new cars launched after 2019 will be hybrid or fully electric, JLR will do the same in 2020.

Commenting on Volvo’s announcement in the Guardian, Professor David Bailey, an automotive expert at Aston University, said: “It’s indicative of the speeding up of the shift over to electrics, particularly in the wake of the VW ‘dieselgate’ scandal, and it’s a sign that the industry is really starting to move and it will become mainstream.

“By the mid-2020s I expect there to be a tipping point where the electric car starts to outcompete the internal combustion engine. It’s the way it’s going.”

With the UK joining France in banning petrol/diesel cars by 2040 and Scotland doing the same in 2035, the move towards a more electric powered fleet for UK motorists is well underway. The Automated and Electric Vehicles Bill, introduced by Transport Minister John Hayes, will see the UK’s public EV charging points almost double from the approximate 11,500 figure.

The bill will make it mandatory for all motorway service stations and large petrol stations to fit EV charging points. The move could see confidence in plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles soar, as worries about range and availability of charging points become less of an issue.

Effect On Motor Traders

Motor traders that sell vehicles as part of their trade will want to keep their eye on the current trends, and may want to keep a close eye on their diesel purchases, especially with the increasing lack of faith in diesels by the consumer. Closely looking at the new sales of EV and hybrids would be a good idea to see what might become a popular option for used car buyers in the future.

Of course any type of motor trader operating in London will be interested in reading up on how the T-Charge will affect them too.

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