(Reuters) -Sales of battery electric vehicles in 2023 are expected to take a hit in the UK from inflationary pressures and lack of charging points, though the overall outlook for British new car registrations has improved, an industry body said on Thursday.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) downgraded its forecast for battery electric vehicles' (BEVs) market share to 18.4% of sales for the year, from a previous estimate of 19.7%.
While SMMT's outlook for BEVs softened, the sector recorded strong performance in April, with year-on-year deliveries of BEVs surging by more than half to 20,522 vehicles and market share jumping from 10.8% to 15.4%.
"The broader economic conditions and charge point anxiety are beginning to cast a cloud over the market’s eagerness to adopt zero emission mobility at the scale and pace needed," SMMT Chief Executive Mike Hawes said in a statement.
New car registrations rose for the ninth consecutive month, jumping 11.6% in April from a year earlier, to 132,990 units, according to the industry data released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
Hawes said the new car market was increasingly bullish as easing supply pressures provide a much-needed boost to sales.