Discounts on new electric cars soften as rules relaxed on ZEV Mandate

Despite March being a strong month for manufacturer discounts as new ’25 plates entered circulation, the level of price reductions has fallen, new analysis suggests.  

The average new car discount across all fuel types in the consumer market edged lower from 9.3% off the recommended retail price (RRP) last month, to 8.6% in April so far, according to the latest data from Auto Trader. 

For electric, the reduction was slightly higher, decreasing from 11.7% off RRP in March to 10.3%. 

This trend, says Auto Trader, could continue over the coming weeks following the Government’s recent changes to the zero emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate, which aims to offer more flexibility to car manufactures, allowing them to shift more of their electric vehicle (EV) sales to later years when demand is expected to be stronger. 

When analysing the data across all fuel types, the Volkswagen Golf is currently the UK’s 'most popular' new car with a 4.1% share of all new car enquiries in April to date. 

As well as topping the pure EV charts, MG’s ZS is currently the second most in-demand overall new car, with a 2.6% share of total enquiries on Auto Trader. 

Land Rover’s Range Rover was placed third with 2.5% of leads. 

Although the top five featured models from established automotive names, Chinese brands such as Jaecoo and BYD entered the top 10.

Despite only being launched in 2023, Jaecoo looks to have already captured interest amongst prospective buyers in the UK market with its Jaecoo 7 receiving a 1.8% share of enquiries and becoming the seventh most in demand new car this month. 

BYD, which is fast becoming known amongst UK consumers over the past 12 months, was placed ninth with its Seal U. 

The family-sized crossover SUV generated a 1.6% share of enquiries in April so far, which was tied with Cupra’s new Terramar model.

In terms of brands across all fuel types the top three switched places with each other. 

BMW moved from second place to first in April generating a 14.6% share of enquiries. 

German rival Volkswagen also inched one place higher from third to second with a 10.2% share of enquiries whilst Land Rover dropped down to third from the top spot last month, with a 9.2% share.

Skoda continues to rise towards the top of the electric charts 

For a third month running, the MG ZS is the most-in demand new electric car, commanding almost 8% of all new EV enquiries sent to retailers through Auto Trader. 

The compact SUV’s position at the top of the leaderboard is under threat, however, from the Skoda Elroq which moved one place higher into second place with a 6.4% share of enquiries in April so far. This was closely followed by BMW’s executive model i4 which received a 6.2% share. 

Both the Skoda Elroq and BMW i4 drove the fastest growth lead share this month across all electric models with the Elroq increasing by 2.1 percentage points month-on-month and the i4 increasing by 3 percentage points.

There’s been no change at the top of the leaderboard for the most popular new car electric brand as MG took first place with a 15.5% share of enquiries, although the gap has narrowed this month versus its nearest rival BMW. 

The manufacturer generated an 11.7% share of enquiries. 

Skoda rounded off the top three with the Czech brand receiving a 7.1% share of leads in April.

Bex Kennett, new car performance director at Auto Trader, said: “Although softening slightly on March’s strong plate change period, consumer interest for new cars remains robust.

“Along with the relaxation in ZEV targets, this should come as welcome news for manufacturers facing uncertainty around the introduction of new tariffs.

“Highlighting the speed in which the market is moving, we’ve seen a strong performance from new brands this month. 

“We’ll be watching these marques closely over the coming months and their efforts to gain even more share of the increasingly competitive retail landscape.”

The latest new car registration figures for March, from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), showed that  EV market share improved significantly on March 2024.

However, at 19.4% it remains more than eight percentage points behind this year's ZEV mandate target of 28% of all new car sales to be zero emission. 

The SMMT says that manufacturers continue to incentivise EVs, incentives that cost the industry some £4.5 billion last year.