Eloise HorsfieldDRIVERS are failing to demonstrate their green credentials after it emerged sales of eco-friendly cars flopped in the first nine months of the year.
Only 8,000 hybrid cars – which run on both petrol and electric – were sold nationally between January and September, less than half the government’s target of 20,000.
Andalucia saw the sale of 885 hybrid cars during that period, representing a 2.4 per cent fall against the same period last year.
Sales of electric cars were also sluggish, with just 17 sold in the whole of Andalucia – 16 in Sevilla and one in Malaga – according to the manufacturers’ association, Anfac.
The group point to a lack of charging points and prohibitive costs, which in some cases are as much as triple the cost of the petrol equivalent, as reasons for the poor uptake.
But despite the poor growth Anfac remain optimistic.
“By 2020, electric cars should make up between three and eight per cent of the car market,” said a spokesman.
