Ade Thomas, founder of World EV Day, at the Plug It In Summit
(Picture: Lucy Young)It’s heartening to see governments and industry acknowledge now that EVs are the future. When the new CEO of Volkswagen, Oliver Blume, took over the world’s second- biggest car maker last week, he stated: "I am a fan of emobility and I stand by this path... we will keep the current pace [and] increase it.”
The UK Government is a real leader here, too, bringing forward an initial ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars to 2030, giving the market and consumers a clear signal to quit petrol. The EU and California have now set 2035 targets, too.
The transition is now inevitable
It seems the transition is now inevitable. Much of what’s needed to deliver on EV ownership is already well and truly in place. And where policy led, consumer traction is now driving the change. While sales of combustion cars are slowing, EV sales are booming. In August Ford’s EV sales in the US were up 307 per cent, while Volvo’s increased by 52 per cent globally.
Now the question is: how can we make the leap to universal EV ownership? At World EV Day, we’ve brought together a consortium of businesses to address the question of how we bring future consumers in, and there are three key takeaways from this research: emobility needs to be affordable, simple and intuitive.
We need manufacturers to release smaller, simpler EVs today
While the first cohort of consumers actively liked engaging with the complexity of EV technology, the next will want simplicity and for stuff to just work. For many consumers the starting price of the so-called ‘low-cost EVs’, is still at a point far out of range for many people looking to buy a new car. The new MG4, one of the lowest-priced EVs, still starts at £26,000.
At the moment, there is a lust for bigger bells-and-whistles EVs and then a leap to tiny cars, but very little in-between. The Microlino bubble car, from Swiss firm micro and not yet available in the UK, has a starting price of £14,740. The new Citroën Ami, another bubble car, is on sale in the UK now, from £7,695, or from £19.99 a month, on PCP, with a £2,370 deposit.
Change is coming
Change is coming on simpler, more affordable vehicles, but World EV Day’s Ipsos research shows that younger people want to get involved, now. In 2025, Volkswagen is touted to be releasing the ID.1, but we need other manufacturers to release smaller, simpler EVs today.
Along with our many partners, the team at World EV Day is building out what I like to call the ‘ideas infrastructure for change’. Since its launch three years ago, our campaign to celebrate sustainable mobility has reached more than one billion people. Now we have partnered with Auto Trader â the UK’s largest online marketplace, with 60 million visits a month â which has invested heavily in communicating and facilitating the transition to EVs, too.
Together we hope to accelerate both the understanding and delivery of emobility; and, ultimately, the wider goal of decarbonisation in mobility. Even before the target of 2030, we want everyone to have the chance to be driving green.
See more at worldevday.org
