Carmakers should stop prioritising SUVs and instead switch their focus to smaller and more affordable electric cars, according to an eco-campaign group.

If more smaller electric cars were available on the UK market, this would hasten the transition to zero-emission vehicles

Transport & Environment (T&E) said that giving priority to smaller EVs could help those on lower incomes slash driving emissions and gain from the benefits of using EVs while also ensuring more efficient use of critical raw materials essential in efforts to achieve net zero.

It’s also published new research indicating that carmakers could sell small electric cars made in Europe for €25,000/£21,000 while still making a profit – not only would the availability of smaller, more affordable EVs be a potential game changer for mass EV adoption but it could also provide a crucial lifeline to compete with the Chinese influx of small B-segment EVs.

T&E warns however that major European carmakers are instead focusing on sales of larger, more lucrative SUVs, which are growing rapidly within the electric car market, making up 44% of all new EVs sold in the UK in 2022, according to SMMT data.

It’s now calling on the Government to help halt this trend towards larger, heavier vehicles. In June, the Climate Change Committee noted their concerns over the “prioritisation of sports utility vehicles” in the sales of new cars.

T&E UK is urging the Government to create conditions for car companies to prioritise small electric cars, while also calling for the introduction of weight-based tax on the purchase of the heaviest new cars and for local governments to introduce parking charges for these vehicles in urban areas.

Ralph Palmer, electric vehicle and fleets officer at T&E UK, said: “There are plenty of options on the table for the Government, they just need to be bold and implement them. It is not a complicated argument – we are not going to be able to supercharge the appetite for electric vehicles by offering people expensive e-SUVs, we are only going to be able to supercharge the appetite by offering people affordable small BEVs.”

A study of new car buyers shows the arrival of more affordable, smaller electric cars would hasten the uptake of zero-emission cars in the UK. One in five (22%) of new car buyers already intend to buy an electric car in the next year, according to a YouGov poll for T&E in the UK – but this rises to 30% when given the option of a small £21,000 electric car. This would also enable more drivers to benefit from the reduced running and maintenance costs of EVs compared to petrol and diesel cars.