Reaction: ACEA April 2023 vehicle registration data

‘Infrastructure could start weighing on EV uptake’ 

Jon Lawes, Managing Director at MHC Mobility, a leading pan-European leasing business providing fleet solutions across all asset types and industry sectors, comments on the European mobility sector following today's (17 May) ACEA vehicle registration figures, which saw a 17.2% increase in passenger car registrations from the previous year.

“The European automobile market has been buoyant in recent months, bouncing back strongly from its Covid and Ukraine-related slowdown. Plans to phase-out ICE vehicles by 2035 seem yet to have really hit home.

“The ongoing ascension of Chinese OEMs, which continue to signal intent to push into the European market with their low-cost electric vehicles (EVs), could be another tailwind for medium-term market expansion.

“While EV growth has been generally robust this year, policymakers must make faster progress on charging infrastructure to avoid Europe’s green mobility transition stalling. There are now 17 times more EVs in Europe than in 2016, but only six times more charging points.  Fleet managers are keen to facilitate the transition but sooner or later, the infrastructure gap threatens to dent confidence among businesses and consumers, and start weighing on EV uptake.”