A charging company has said proposed UK changes to electric car sales rules could increase uncertainty over demand, as it said that it had been caught out by lower numbers of purchases by British drivers.
Pod Point, which is majority-owned by EDF Energy, said weak demand for new cars meant it made revenues of £53m in 2024 from its sales of chargers and services, compared with a £60m target. The London-listed company’s share price slumped by more than a third on Monday morning.
The car industry has been warning of tough market conditions for more than a year, with slower sales across the market hitting electric cars particularly hard, because they still tend to be more expensive upfront (although not in the long run) than petrol equivalents.
The weakness has prompted the industry to lobby the UK government to relax sales quotas, known as the zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate. The rules force carmakers to sell more electric cars every year.
The headline target for 2024 was 22%, rising to 28% this year, but carmakers also have significant “flexibilities” that allow them to effectively sell fewer cars and the government has opened a consultation that is expected to relax the rules further.
For charger companies, the prospect of even lower electric car sales would be a blow. Melanie Lane, the Pod Point chief executive, said there was “a difficult market backdrop” in the EV industry, with a “weaker-than-expected private EV market” that hit its sales of home chargers.
Pod Point said the difficult times would continue in 2025, and that it was unlikely to meet market sales expectations. The consultation over changes to the ZEV mandate “could further increase near-term uncertainty for the sector”, it said.
The government has said that every carmaker in the UK would in effect achieve their targets – albeit using the flexibilities – and avoid large financial penalties for failure.
A Department for Transport (DfT) spokesperson said: “Thanks to the flexibilities in the ZEV mandate, we’re confident the whole market will comply with the 22% target and that no car manufacturer will need to pay fines.”
The statement came after analysis by T&E, a campaign group on transport and environmental issues, found that only one carmaker would have to resort to buying “credits” from rivals in order to avoid fines. T&E has called for the government to resist manufacturers’ calls to weaken the rules, arguing that the mandate is working as planned.
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The industry has complained that the rules are too strict amid declining demand. Mike Hawes, the chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, a lobby group, said manufacturers are having to spend £4.5bn to discount electric cars to make them attractive for buyers and hit the targets.
He said: “What is clear is that the pressure on the industry is intense, with even those brands that have complied demanding government support for consumers, or a review of the regulation to be sure it is delivering the vibrant market, business opportunity and economic growth we all need.”
The DfT spokesperson said: “2024 was a record year for switching to electric, with 382k EVs sold across last year – a 21% increase on 2023.
“Getting this transition right as more people make a switch to electric vehicles will support the growth of the market in the UK and will provide an opportunity to tap into a multibillion-pound industry that will create high-paid jobs for decades to come.”
