A WELL known motor dealers has warned that there is an oversupply of electric vehicles coming into the UK creating a major imbalance.
Vertu Motors, who have 189 sites around the country, has warned that supply of electric vehicles is now outstripping demand in the UK.
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Vertu said that manufacturers were responding to the oversupply by cutting prices and interest on finance to boost demand.
A spokesperson for the company said: “Recent increased supply of new electric vehicles appears to be exceeding retail demand, creating an imbalance in pipeline inventory coming into the
key plate-change month of September.
“Manufacturers are reacting to this through the offer of discounted prices and supported finance rates to stimulate retail demand.”
It added: “Fleet sector demand for electric vehicles remains robust and is currently critical to the electrification [of the UK’s total number of vehicles].”
Research by online motor marketplace, AutoTrader, revealed the average price for a used EV has dropped by 21.4 per cent this month.
Marc Palmer, the head of strategy and insights at AutoTrader, told MailOnline: “The used market will now be slower to mature. There will be fewer new EVs registered and fewer used cars coming to market.
“There will be sections of the public, especially those who are sceptical, who will want to wait.”
Elon Musk’s popular Tesla brand has been one of the worst affected, as well as other high-end models from BMW and Mercedes-Benz.
Trade body, The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, has said drivers stopped buying EVs due to concerns over cost and re-charging.
A report from the trade body, highlighting the stalled electric car private buyer market, said: “A faster and fairer mass transition [to zero-emission vehicles] is threatened by the absence of support for private buyers, many of whom plan to go electric but are delaying due to concerns over affordability and uncertainty regarding the availability of a charging network.”
