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Government-backed incentives are needed to encourage take-up of EVs, in particular from the consumer market, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
The organisation said that while fleet demand for the vehicles - supported by incentives such as low BIK company car tax rates - was strong, this success needed to be replicated in the private market, and that manufacturer purchase initiatives needed to be backed by government action.
Among the measures suggested by the SMMT are reducing VAT on EVs - which the organisation said would mirror existing discounts on other environmental products such as solar panels - and raising the threshold for the Vehicle Excise Duty 'expensive car supplement', or exempting EVs from this altogether.
Other suggestions include reducing the VAT rate on public EV charging from 20% to 5%, therefore matching the rate applied to home charging, and mandating targets for the rollout of chargepoints.
The SMMT argued that measures such as these would improve the attractiveness of EVs to consumers, and also flow through to the second-hand market, helping to address concerns about residual values which have become a fleet industry talking point.
SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said: "We are entering a new phase in the UK's EV transition, in which Britain can, and should, be a leader. We have the industry, the love of new technology and the scale to succeed.
"The government has recently demonstrated its commitment to EV manufacturing in the UK and that commitment must be extended to the consumer. With a new - and still to be finalised - Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate due to revolutionise the market in just over 100 days, supply must be matched by demand.
"A comprehensive package of measures would encourage households across the UK to go electric now, boosting an industry slowly recovering from the pandemic and delivering benefits for the Exchequer, society and the global environment."
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