Electric vehicles power-up threefold on local roads

In 2020, there was a total of 758 electric vehicles in circulation. There were 2,133 at the end of 2023.

The number of hybrid vehicles has also increased during that period, from 695 to 1,885.

‘The number of electric and hybrid vehicles in Guernsey continues to increase year on year, with the number of electric motorcycles having more than doubled since 2020 and the number of private electric vehicles having more than tripled,’ said Anita Walker, economy, infrastructure, environment and culture operations manager for the States.

She said that last year private electric and hybrid vehicles made up a third of the island’s annual car registrations.

It is estimated that 3.2% of some 47,000 private vehicles registered locally and believed to be in circulation in 2023 were electric, up from 2.3% in 2022.

The 2022 statistic put Guernsey equal with Switzerland in seventh place on the list of European countries with the highest percentage of electric vehicles in 2022.

Norway topped the list with 20.12% while the UK was in 10th place with 1.93%.

Some local car dealerships have seen a great interest in electric cars, including Le Mont Saint, which has done well with its Fiat 500 electric range.

‘Our electric car sales are going really well, it’s been very positive,’ said joint managing director Peter Beausire.

He said that since the Fiat 500 electric range launched in 2021 the garage had sold more than 200. From trade-in deals, he estimated that 95% of those purchasers were switching from a petrol car to an electric version.

‘We can’t get electric cars in quick enough.’

The dealership also started selling electric bikes at the beginning of April which has been a huge success. Seven bikes were sold on the past Saturday alone.

He said that customers were telling the business that the island was ‘perfect’ for electric vehicles.

‘The only thing we’re lacking over here is the infrastructure in terms of charging availability in Town,’ said Mr Beausire.

‘Some electric cars have been going for 10 years – we should have a full row of charging points on North Beach.

‘By 2030, anyone looking for a new car will have no choice but to buy electric, so if the infrastructure is not improved, people are going to continue buying used, older petrol cars which are more polluting.

‘Instead we could be a fully electric island by 2050.’