Leading The Charge: Car Insurance Enquiries For Electric Vehicles In Wales Increases By Almost Two Fifths
Car insurance enquiries for electric vehicles in Wales went up by almost two fifths (19.32%) since the beginning of the year, according to research by MoneySuperMarket.
This figure represents yet another milestone in the rapid rise of electric vehicles, with MoneySuperMarket data showing an 80% increase since the beginning of 2020, when only one in every 270 enquiries were for EVs (0.37%). This also represents a 226% increase on the first half of 2019 and a massive 370% increase on the first half of 2018, when just one in 700 enquiries were for an electric vehicle (0.14%).
In London this proportion is even higher, where more than one in every 100 car insurance enquiries are now for an electric vehicle. The capital has seen a 25% boost in the proportion of electric vehicle car insurance enquiries since the end of 2020, rising from 0.86% to 1.07%.
The City of London has by far the highest proportion of car insurance enquiries for electric vehicles recorded in any area to date, with more than one in 10 (10.03%).
In general, those in the south of England are most likely to own an electric vehicle, with proportions in the South East (0.85%), East (0.71%) and South West (0.63%) only lower than London. However, the North West saw the largest increase in the proportion of enquiries for electric vehicles, moving from one in every 250 enquiries in H2 2020 (0.40%) to one in every 170 in H1 2021 (0.58%) – a 40% rise.
Proportion of enquiries for electric vehicles by region:
| Region | Proportion of enquiries for EVs, H2 2020 | Proportion of enquiries for EVs, H1 2021 | Change | Average Premium in H1 2021 |
| London | 0.86% | 1.07% | 25% | £860.54 |
| South East | 0.72% | 0.85% | 18% | £539.84 |
| East | 0.56% | 0.71% | 28% | £546.51 |
| South West | 0.55% | 0.63% | 14% | £417.76 |
| Scotland | 0.57% | 0.61% | 7% | £410.31 |
| North West | 0.40% | 0.58% | 44% | £639.52 |
| East Midlands | 0.46% | 0.55% | 20% | £567.84 |
| North East | 0.41% | 0.51% | 22% | £512.96 |
| West Midlands | 0.38% | 0.47% | 23% | £646.77 |
| Yorkshire & the Humber | 0.35% | 0.44% | 24% | £586.32 |
| Wales | 0.34% | 0.41% | 19% | £448.91 |
| Northern Ireland | 0.34% | 0.38% | 12% | £478.24 |
Meanwhile, the rate of change in Scotland was a little lower, with the proportion of enquiries for electric vehicles increasing by just 7% since the end of 2020. In addition, Scotland has dropped from being the third most popular region for electric cars in 2020 to fifth place by mid-2021 (0.61%). Wales and Northern Ireland continue to have the lowest proportion of enquiries for electric vehicles in the UK (0.41% and 0.38% respectively).
The start of 2021 saw a significant decline in car insurance premiums across all engine types – petrol, diesel and electric – however, the drop in premiums for EVs was only 2%, compared to 10% for diesel and 15% for petrol. This smaller decline in premiums for electric vehicles could be in part due to the average age of enquirers across the different engine types.
Younger age groups saw the biggest overall drop in car insurance prices between the end of 2020 and the middle of 2021, with premiums falling by £287 for 17-19-year-olds compared to just £27 for over 65s. Enquirers for electric vehicles were far less likely to fall into these younger age groups, which may mean that this drop in prices had less of an effect on the overall premium.
Premiums for EVs are now more expensive on average than petrol vehicles for the first time since 2019 (£613 v £575). However, diesel vehicles remain the most expensive to insure at £618.
Proportion of enquiries for electric, diesel and petrol engine cars by age group:
| Engine Type | Average Age of Enquirer | 17 to 19 | 20 to 24 | 25 to 29 | 30 to 39 | 40 to 49 | 50 to 64 | 65 or Above |
| Electric | 42 | 3.4% | 7% | 8.4% | 25.4% | 25% | 22.1% | 8.6% |
| Diesel | 35 | 6.8% | 14.1% | 13.4% | 25.1% | 18% | 16.5% | 6% |
| Petrol | 31 | 17% | 18.2% | 12.2% | 17.9% | 13.2% | 14.2% | 7.3% |
Tesla continued to dominate the most popular makes and models, making up a third (33%) of all enquiries for EVs, including four separate models in the top 10. Variants of the Tesla Model-3 alone account for over a quarter of all enquiries for electric vehicles (27%).
Top ten EVs with the most enquiries, between January and June 2021:
| H1 2021 rank by number of enquiries | Car | Average Premium Cost | % of Enquiries in Period |
| 1 | Tesla Model-3 Long Range AWD | £891.52 | 13% |
| 2 | Tesla Model-3 Standard Range Plus | £1,056.27 | 10% |
| 3 | Nissan Leaf | £439.04 | 7% |
| 4 | Tesla Model-S | £1,273.28 | 5% |
| 5 | Jaguar I-Pace | £670.82 | 3% |
| 6 | Tesla Model-3 Performance AWD | £896.56 | 3% |
| 7 | Renault Zoe | £436.60 | 3% |
| 8 | Kia Niro | £409.78 | 3% |
| 9 | Nissan Leaf Acenta | £397.77 | 3% |
| 10 | Volkswagen E-Golf | £415.87 | 2% |
Kate Devine, Car Insurance Expert at MoneySuperMarket, commented: “The proportion car insurance enquiries that are for electric vehicles continues to increase at a steady rate, and we’re likely to reach one in every 100 across the country in the near future. We can expect this trend to continue as we inch towards the ban on sales of new petrol and diesel cars, which comes into play in 2030.
“While premiums for electric vehicles are now more expensive than for petrol cars, this change may only be temporary. The significant decline in car insurance prices across the board in H1 was in part influenced by a reduction in younger drivers during the pandemic, which affected premiums for petrol vehicles more than electric due to age differences between enquirers for each engine type. Premiums for electric cars have generally been lower than petrol or diesel, historically, and if we see the number of younger drivers increase this is likely to push premiums up for petrol cars more than electric cars.
“Whatever type of car you are driving, it’s still important to make sure you shop around in order to find the best car insurance deal for you.”
You can find out more about electric cars and car insurance via the MoneySuperMarket website.