Getting the economy into gear

Automotive sector is front and centre of UK growth agenda, says Mike Hawes

Mike Hawes

This week saw the return of an electric car grant for the first time since 2022 – a welcome move and one that responds to long-term calls by the industry for an incentive to move a market beyond current levels of natural demand. 

Establishing operational certainty and deployment of the scheme at speed are now critical, however, to give the market the best possible boost.

Consumers have more than 130 electric models to choose from, with increasing numbers at lower price points and covering a variety of segments and styles. The scale of the challenge is evident given the incentive scheme needs to generate the market momentum that will take EV volumes from just one in four new purchases today to four in five by the end of the decade.

In a further cross-sector boost to the EV transition, government has also announced £63m chargepoint funding to encourage a wide range of road users to consider going electric. These include the one in three motorists without a driveway, through the provision of “gullies” on the roadside, as well as van, truck and coach operators that first need depot connections.

The Electric Car Grant and chargepoint funding are the latest in a series of government announcements that reflect the automotive sector’s leading role in delivering decarbonisation and economic growth in the UK. Thriving new vehicle markets also help attract new investment, growth and jobs – core government missions which were given a major boost with the announcement of the £2.5 billion DRIVE35 Automotive Transformation Fund.

On the back of government’s new Industrial and Trade Strategies, this week’s announcements further develop the holistic and long-term approach industry needs – but success depends on deployment. Done right, industry, government and related sectors can deliver the rapid change the country needs.

Mike Hawes is the chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders (SMMT)