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Car tax changes which scrapped upfront electric car costs have proved popular among businesses and may have helped push sales of the new models above traditional cars for the first time.
SMMT data revealed the Tesla’s Model 3 topped the best seller list in April with a total of 658 models sold during the month. This smaller decline ensured electric models made up almost one
third of total car registrations last month in a record best for teh eco-friendly models. WhatCar? Editorial Director Jim Holder said the achievement was a ”noteworthy landmark” for the
car market. He predicted a environmentally friendly scrappage scheme could soon be introduced as electric cars became a more dominant force on the road. He said: “While the individual
model sales are largely irrelevant, Tesla's top slot for its ground-breaking Model 3 is noteworthy for thrusting an electric car into the top sales position in the UK for the first
time. “While we wouldn't expect that feat to be repeated for some years, it is a small but noteworthy landmark and is backed up by the electric Jaguar I-Pace in second place, with
fully electric cars taking 31.8% of the whole market." "We expect talk to turn to incentives soon – both from the industry's car makers themselves, but also potentially from
the Government, perhaps with an environmentally-focused scrappage scheme." The new car tax changes saw benefit in kind rates on company cars slashed from 16 percent to zero. The
changes had proved popular among business workers, with eight out of ten admitting in a recent survey they would likely switch to a new car under the scheme. Octopus Electric Vehicles CEO,
Fiona Howarth, has previously claimed he had noticed further interest in these schemes since the changes were introduced. Last month, she said the company had recorded a 62 percent increase
in people interested in salary sacrifice schemes since the scheme was brought into use. She said companies were seeing the schemes as a great “morale boost” for employees due to the
massive savings. Ms Howarth claimed they had seen a “heightened” interest in the Tesla Model 3 which could explain the sales seen in April. She confirmed customers who purchase a Model 3
through the company’s salary sacrifice offering, the Go Green Car Scheme, benefit from the additional protection of being able to hand the car back if they are made redundant. Motorists
could save up to 40 percent on their total running costs by switching due to fuel savings and car tax breaks.