Stellantis brand Vauxhall calls for EV boosting subsidies after UK budget

By Nick Carey

LONDON (Reuters) - The head of Stellantis car and van brand Vauxhall on Wednesday criticised the lack of subsidies in the UK government's budget to help spur demand for electric vehicles as demand growth for zero-emission cars has been slowing.

The budget presented by British finance minister Jeremy Hunt "has not delivered the acceleration needed to stop the UK's transition to electric vehicles from stalling", Vauxhall managing director James Taylor said in a statement.

Britain did have incentives in place for consumers to buy EVs, but has gradually removed them.

According to Britain's Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), fewer than one in five new fully-electric vehicles registered in Britain were purchased by private buyers, with the rest bought by corporate fleets.

Taylor said that in order to meet the UK government's mandate that 80% of cars sold in the country must be electric by 2030 there should be "incentives for private car buyers to make the switch to electric as there are in the majority of European nations."

"Whilst there are strong incentives for company car drivers to make the switch to electric ... the private buyer who wants a more attainable small or family car receives nothing," he added.

Last month Stellantis said it would launch production of medium-sized electric vans in 2025 at its Luton plant in England, but said that the government needed to do more to stimulate EV demand.

(Reporting by Nick Carey; Editing by Mark Potter)