Ben Fleetwood’s EV Market March Update

Your E-Car was formed in 2018, originally as Red Kite Leasing, and started as an independent vehicle leasing company, working with local businesses in and around Witney, Oxfordshire. It was created by Ben and Rebecca Fleetwood, two automotive professionals who had identified a space in the market for a friendly and reliable fleet management service.

As Ben explains, the COVID-19 lockdowns brought about a new approach. “We were forced to close for several months of the year, which gave us the opportunity to look at what we do and how we wanted to move forward. We decided then that we would embrace the future of vehicle leasing and changed our name to Your E-Car, specialising in the supply of electric vehicle and plug-in hybrid electric vehicle leasing.”

Starting this month, Ben will be sharing an EV Market Update with B4 and wider business community to give his advice and opinion on the rapidly changing world of motor vehicles, what we should buy, when we should (or more to the point, can) buy it and how we should finance our purchase.

To start, Ben explains that securing your new car might not be as straightforward as it once was and that planning ahead and being patient are the order of the day.

“The biggest topic at the moment is rather a negative one but it’s the reality of the market. We can’t hide from the fact that there are production issues which are resulting in huge delivery delays. Whilst 4,000 luxury cars sinking in the Atlantic is a relatively small number in the grand scheme of things, it’s a contributory factor in the reason for the delays, but there are some more fundamental reasons.

“Back in March 2020 when COVID-19 hit, global manufacturers quickly realised they wouldn’t be selling many cars during the pandemic, although then they (nor any of us) knew how long it would go on for. They were right for the first six months. As a result, they reduced their commitment to the number of semiconductor chips they needed for their vehicles. The manufacturers of the chips then found alternative customers (electrical goods that were still enjoying high demand, including mobile phones, tv’s, computers etc….). When the world started getting back to some sort of normality in October 2020, because people couldn’t go on holiday, go out or generally spend money, they looked at treating themselves to a new car. Clearly this doesn’t count for the reasons behind every intended car purchase, but it helps to illustrate the point. This wasn’t just in the UK, it was happening globally.

“With increased demand in Q4 of 2020 and a reduction in production due to chip stock shortages, the knock-on effect was longer lead times from early 2021 which we are still seeing. There really are very few new cars left in stock. This has had a positive effect on used car prices. With more people returning to work mid 2021 onwards, this has fuelled the demand for new cars and used cars as many families sold their 2^nd car (that they didn’t need) in lockdown but now they need a 2^nd car again!

“Many readers will be familiar with the huge swathes of cars near Bristol and, closer to home, BMW Mini. There won’t be anything like the number of cars in these ‘car parks’ now.

“It’s strange to think that Brexit doesn’t get a mention in discussions like this. But COVID almost saved us from a lot of the potential implications of Brexit and it’s now almost a dim and distant memory.”

Ben also highlights that global manufacturers are now putting more and more of their efforts into EV’s to reduce their emissions and highlights Tesla as one of the more available EV’s. “Tesla didn’t reduce their production during lockdown and have a fairly regular supply of cars coming into the UK, but others are experiencing huge delays. That said, if you’re looking for a ‘gas guzzler’ you’ll be waiting 18 months or more as the manufacturers are prioritising EV’s and really paying less and less attention to the big petrol cars.”

So, the long and the short of it is if you’re looking for a new car, get in touch with Ben. He’s an expert when it comes to Electric Vehicles and can help navigate you around the pros and cons of electric versus petrol. Add to that he’s a thoroughly decent chap who wants to make sure his customers get the best deals and first class service. See Ben’s contact details below.

Next month Ben talks about the benefits of EV’s for business use.