Almost half (49.16%) of new cars, vans and trucks added to epyx’s 1link Service Network in December were battery electric vehicles (BEVs) – the highest percentage yet recorded.
The company says the figure is a useful representation of current fleet acquisition, with the platform supporting service, maintenance and repair (SMR) management for 4.9 million UK company vehicles.
Tim Meadows, CCO, said, “With electrification continuing to proceed at a rapid pace, it’s perhaps no surprise to see this level of penetration – but it does represent a substantial jump from our previous high of 45.08%, recorded in August.
“It is a figure that should probably be treated with some care – December is not a high sales month and can produce some unrepresentative results – but having nearly half of all vehicles added to the platform being BEVs does feel like something of a milestone.”
There remain quite strong month-by-month fluctuations in epyx’s data when it came to fuel types, he added. For example, in September, the corresponding BEV figure was just 34.63%.
“Overall, it is clear that EVs continue to gain ground, largely at the expense of petrol, but there remain substantial short-term ups-and-downs. These are probably largely caused by normal seasonal shifts in the market but also increasing levels of pre-registrations and the ZEV Mandate may be causing some distortions.”
December’s high BEV figure was accompanied by corresponding falls in other fuel types being added to 1link Service Network, with petrol at 18.09%.
Tim added, “This is the lowest figure yet recorded for petrol and it’s worth pointing out that in some months during 2022, it accounted for two out of three sales. It’s been a relatively rapid decline although the latest percentage is unusually low compared to recent data.”
Other December results from 1link Service Network showed hybrids at 20.35% and diesel at 12.40%.
“This is slightly on the low side for hybrids, which trended in the mid 20%s for most of last year, while the diesel figure is typical of recent performance.”
