Discounts on new electric vehicles (EVs) rose 323% in the last year as car manufacturers tried to stimulate sales, according to new research by consumer champion and new car buying platform What Car? 

What Car?’s exclusive Target Price mystery shopper data revealed that, between November 2022 and November this year, the average combined cash and finance discount for fully electric vehicles in the UK increased by 323%, with the average combined discount worth £4,399. By comparison, discounts for petrol and diesel models grew by 122.7% and 122.5% respectively. 

The Vauxhall Mokka-e 100kW GS Line was available with the largest percentage saving overall, with discounts worth 23.9% of its list price. This equates to a saving of £9,087 on the list price of £38,985 – a 386% increase on the discount available last year. 

The discounting trend extended to PCP finance deals, with monthly payments on EV models dropping by an average of 16% over the same period. In one instance, the monthly PCP payment on a Mercedes EQC dropped from £1,094 to £594 during the period – a 46% decrease – partly due to the attractive 0% interest rate terms now available - down from 9.9% last year. 

Next year, car manufacturers will be required by the UK Government’s new ZEV Mandate to achieve a 22% sales mix of EVs, or face heavy fines. “That’s a big uplift from the 15.6% achieved so far in 2023, with the low uptake of EVs among retail customers likely to be behind the discounts now being made available,” said What Car?

What Car? editor Steve Huntingford added: “While EV sales have grown in 2023, this is down to favourable tax rules tempting company and fleet drivers. However, the huge increase in discounts that we’ve seen over the last 12 months means they can actually make a lot of financial sense for retail customers, too.”

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