Jaguar is converting into an all-electric luxury brand, with its first production version to be unveiled later this year and expected to be priced higher than previous models.
Steve Gooding, chief executive of the RAC Foundation, said: “Our love affair with Fiesta-sized cars might swiftly be rekindled if more small, keenly priced EV models start coming to market.
“But will the auto companies see this as being in their interest, given the higher profit margins they tend to earn on bigger vehicles?”
In the small-car market the best British contender is the all-electric Mini, made mainly at the BMW Group plant at Cowley, in Oxford, but with some versions built in China and Germany. Prices start at £30,000.
This compares with the £17,000 BYD Dolphin or the £16,000 MG3, both built in China.
Jack Cousens, head of roads policy at the AA, said the relatively low prices of Chinese cars were giving them an increasingly strong grip on UK markets. About 19,000 of the 191,000 cars sold in the UK in June were made by Chinese brands such as MG, BYD, Omoda, and Jaecoo.
Mr Cousens said the Chinese manufacturers were also now targeting the market for larger EVs.
He said: “MG, now Chinese owned, offers both small and larger EVs. Jaecoo, Xpeng and Genesis are doing well in the larger market. Look out for the Jaecoo J5 which is on the cusp of being released and looks like a Range Rover Evoque, but at a fraction of the price.”
