UK EVs: The beatings will continue until morale improves

Investment Analysis Clubs Macro Economic Trends and Risks
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By 2024, UBS confidently predicted in a October 2020 report, the cost of manufacturing an electric car would have fallen so sharply that it would be on a parity with the cost of a petrol or diesel car. If you have looked on Auto Trader recently you may well have been fooled into thinking that this has come true.

A quick search offered me a brand new Peugeot e-2008, its price slashed from £38,495 to £26,495. Or I could have a Vauxhall Mokka-e, down from £41,895 to £29,793. According to the car trading platform, 77 per cent of new electric cars on its website are being advertised at a discount…

The real reason for hefty discounts on electric cars is desperation. Since 1 January, manufacturers have been under the zero emissions mandate (ZEV), which demands that 22 per cent of the cars they sell in 2024 are pure electric cars. Should they fail to reach this target, they will be fined £15,000 for every vehicle by which they fall short.

DB2

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From the article:

For the moment, manufacturers are discounting the price of EVs, but in the coming months something is going to have to give. Either the government will relax the ZEV mandate as it has already relaxed other net zero targets – or manufacturers are going to find themselves in serious trouble.

Once governments get involved things usually go south!