He estimates that the Frontera and the larger Grandland will bump that proportion up to 30%, but says it will be “very difficult” for the industry to achieve the mandated 33% EV sales mix in 2026 “without a stimulus”.
“People are bringing out more models to fill out their product portfolios, and that’ll help a little bit, but clearly something needs to happen if we’re really going to stimulate electric sales over the medium term,” Taylor said.
He called for the government to support EV uptake with measures like a reduction in VAT on public charging or the introduction of a new grant for affordable EVs, using “a repatriation of company car savings”, to make electric cars more attractive for retail customers.
Otherwise, he said, “we will be perennially faced with either a marketplace where profitability is squeezed from an OEM perspective, or cars will simply have to go up in price and therefore the market will be smaller.”
Asked if Vauxhall would restrict ICE sales to augment its EV sales mix, Taylor emphasised that as part of the Stellantis group, “we will definitely be compliant”, and suggested it would be more likely that “you end up with a slightly different lead time from electric to ICE”.
While Vauxhall is now able to sell an EV at the same price as a petrol car, Taylor acknowledged that “we’re still a number of years away” from achieving comparable profit from each.
He pointed to building a local battery supply chain and improving their energy density as crucial components of reducing the manufacturing cost of EVs, but doubled down on the need for “concerted action to improve electric demand on the used car market”, with residuals for EVs currently running an estimated 10% below ICE on average.
“Building them at the same cost is one point, but clearly, if their value as a used car is less than the equivalent ICE, that’s having a significant impact on our profitability.”