Tag Archives: Electric Cars

Car Manufacturing In The UK Is Booming

imagesMotorists may be interested to read that car manufacturing is doing very nicely here in the UK with the number of new cars built reaching a 10 year high in 2015 when 1,587,677 new cars came off production lines. The £10 billion that has been invested in producing new models and in certain other areas of the industry during the last 5 years would appear to be proving beneficial. Of those vehicles, 1,227,881 (77.3%) were exported.

 

It is also interesting that this August was the best August for 14 years when it came to the number of new cars manufactured in the UK with 109,004 being built. Of those, 81,200 (74.5%) were exported.

The year-to-date figures to August 2016 reveal that 1,132,727 new cars were built with this being an increase of 12% when compared to the same period last year so it is quite possible that more cars will be built this year than in 2015. Of those cars, 877,523 were exported (77.5%).

As you can see, a very large % of vehicles being built in the UK are exported overseas. Below are the top 10 places that they were transported to last year: –

1. EU Countries 57.3%
2. USA 12.1%
3. China 7.1%
4. Turkey 3.2%
5. Australia 2.5%
6. Japan 2.0%
7. South Korea 1.8%
8. Canada 1.5%
9. Russia 1.1%
10. Israel 1.1%

Within the EU the top 6 countries importing cars built in the UK were Germany, Belgium, Italy, France, Portugal and Spain.

German FlagBelgium Flag

Italy FlagFrance FlagPortugal Flag

Spain Flag

 

 

 

Below are a few interesting facts about the car industry here in the UK: –

a) Demand for electric cars increased by more than 50% in 2015.
b) A new car is built every 16 seconds.
c) The UK has the second largest new car market in Europe with Germany holding the number one position.
d) The UK is the 10th largest manufacturer of new cars in the world.
e) There were 2.63 million new cars sold in the UK with 86.55 of them being imported from other countries.
f) In the region of 2.5 million car engines are built in the UK each year.

The above data was produced by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). If you are interested, you can find out even more information on their website.

Here at AIB Insurance, we pride ourselves on helping our many motoring customers obtain competitive car insurance as well as providing a first class, professional and personal service both pre and after sale. So, if you would like a quotation then why not get in touch with us on 02380 268 351.

Could Number Of Public Electric Car Charging Locations Exceed Petrol Stations?

Here in the UK, it probably does not come as a surprise to many motorists to hear that quite a lot of car owners are switching to electric vehicles. In fact, in the first 3 months of this year, in excess of 115 electric cars were registered on a daily basis.Electric Car

As the number of electric cars on our roads increase there will no doubt need to be a good supply of charging points. Presently, most owners of electric cars charge their vehicles up at home overnight. However, there are electric charging stations located at 98% of motorway service stations that are dotted around various parts of the UK.

Some interesting research has been carried out by Nissan, who like many car manufacturers build electric vehicles, into the number of petrol stations and public electric charging points. For instance, back in 1970 there were 37,539 petrol stations yet by the end of last year there were only 8,472. It is the opinion of Nissan that by August 2020 the number of petrol stations could have dropped to less than 7.870.

Electric CarIn recent years, the number of public electric car charging locations has increased quite significantly. For instance, by the end of 2012 there were 913, by the end of 2013 there were 1,962, by the end of 2014 the numbers had grown to 2,775 and by the end of last year there were 3,646 locations. It is predicted by Nissan that by August 2020 the number of public electric car charging locations could have reached 7,898.

As you can see, by the summer of 2020, it is forecast that, if the above patterns continue, there will be more electric car charging locations here in the UK than there will be petrol stations. How many people would have thought that this could potentially happen 10 years ago?

Do bear in mind if you are considering purchasing an electric car why not give us a call here at AIB Insurance and we will gladly obtain a competitive quotation to insure your new vehicle without any obligation on your part.