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February 2025 | Phonebox Magazine 49QUICK BURSTS:Drivers keeping cars longerHard-working households are confronting difficult choices when it comes to car ownership, according to a new report from The Motor Ombudsman. The motoring regulator says that 53% of garage businesses reported customers not doing routine car maintenance, such as servicing, to save money during the past year. Many are expecting this trend to continue in 2025, with more than half (56%) of garages surveyed expecting motorists to delay vital repairs. Meanwhile, 48% are forecasting vehicle owners will forgo maintenance to cut short term costs. While these might at fi rst glance seem like money-saving opportunities, they could lead to signifi cantly higher costs down the road, and critically, could even put vehicle owners and their occupants, as well as others, in danger. Moreover, 52% of garages are expecting repair costs to go up due to ongoing component shortages and inflation, meaning the fi nancial strain on hardworking families is set to intensify. Two thirds (68%) of garages said that customers are keeping existing cars for longer, although foregoing the cost of a newer car makes looking after an older vehicle, with potentially high mileage, even more critical.Electric cars power onElectric car sales in the UK will increase to 440,000 in 2025, representing 24% of 1.84 million total new car sales, according to forecasts from electric vehicle (EV) leasing company DriveElectric.This is a 4.4% increase compared with electric car sales equating to 19.6% of the total new car market in 2024 (381,970 units) %u2013 although new electric car registrations accounted for 31.0% of the market in December 2024 as manufacturers aimed to hit the government%u2019s Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate target.The continued growth in electric car sales shows that more motorists are embracing EVs, but the forecast of electric cars representing 24% of total sales this year means that the 2025 ZEV mandate target of 28% will be missed.There are increasing numbers of new EVs coming to market in 2025, with smaller and more affordable models, including new entrants from China, as well as battery costs reducing and more EVs being off ered at price parity with petrol cars. The latest EVs have longer driving ranges and faster charging, helping to break down the barrier of range anxiety (fear of running out of power). CHANGE?HONDA CIVIC E:HEVPrice guide: %u00a337,000MG3 HYBRID+Price guide: %u00a319,000RENAULT CLIO E-TECHPrice guide: %u00a325,000HYUNDAI TUCSONPrice guide: %u00a332,000TOYOTA COROLLAPrice guide: %u00a337,000BMW X5 XDRIVE50EPrice guide: %u00a380,000