The UK has just crossed a significant milestone: more than two million new cars registered in a single year, a record high since the pandemic.
On paper, this looks like progress.
In reality, behind the headlines, the industry is flashing warning lights.
According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), electric vehicle sales are still not rising fast enough to meet government targets - and the only thing currently bridging the gap is aggressive discounting. More than £5 billion in EV discounts were offered last year alone, equating to roughly £11,000 per vehicle.
The message from industry leaders is clear:
this is not sustainable.
So the real question becomes:
If record investments and price cuts can’t carry the transition alone - what will?
The electric vehicle transition isn't stalling because of price, policy, or product.
It's stalling because most people never experience the energy system they're being asked to buy into.
For the average consumer, clean energy is:
EVs are marketed as a lifestyle shift, yet the energy behind them remains abstract, hidden and passive.
That's not a demand problem.
That's a visibility and participation failure.
When manufacturers discount EVs by £11,000 per vehicle, they're not "stimulating demand". They're compensating for the fact that the transition feels imposed, not experienced, and that the public realm plays no role in energy literacy. Discounts exist because there is no other mechanism helping people internalise the shift.
Price becomes the only lever left.
This is not unsustainable because it's expensive. It's unsustainable because it never builds understanding.
Every major technology shift that stuck had one thing in common: people interacted with it before they were asked to adopt it. Smartphones were touched, played with and shared. The internet showed up in cafés, libraries, schools. Contactless payments appeared in public transport before retail.
EVs skipped this step. Clean energy went straight to policy and procurement - bypassing everyday human experience entirely. So when consumers hesitate, the industry responds with incentives instead of fixing the underlying flaw: energy has no physical presence in daily life.
If the EV transition is to move beyond subsidies, energy must stop being invisible. It needs to:
This is where infrastructure becomes behavioural, not just functional. When people generate energy themselves - even in small ways - the system stops feeling abstract and becomes legible. And legibility is what adoption runs on.
This isn't theoretical. Across transport hubs, sports venues, public spaces and brand activations, we're already seeing what happens when energy stops being hidden and starts becoming interactive.
When people generate energy with their own movement, engagement increases dramatically, sustainability becomes emotionally memorable, and clean energy stops feeling distant. Instead of telling people about the future, you let them step into it. That's the shift the EV transition needs.
Automotive brands are being judged not just on vehicles, but on how credibly they represent the future. If your sustainability story only lives in advertising, CSR reports, or vehicle specs, then you are still asking consumers to take a leap of faith.
Brands that build the next phase of electrification will do something different. They will show the transition before asking people to buy into it. That's not marketing, it's pre-adoption infrastructure.
If you're an automotive brand, developer or event partner asking:
"How do we make the energy transition real for people?"
That's the question we work on everyday. Explore how brands like KIA, Mercedes-Benz, and Ford are already turning movement into measurable impact with Pavegen. The EV transition doesn't need cheaper cars. It needs visible energy, participatory infrastructure, and human-scale experiences. And that starts from the ground up.
For more information about how Pavegen kinetic technology is helping pave the wave for a more sustainable future, contact press@pavegen.com.
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About Pavegen
Pavegen is a purpose-driven technology business that helps power change and generates positive outcomes for people and planet. Laying underfoot inside buildings, public spaces and at events, Pavegen Kinetic Paving harnesses the power of people’s footsteps, creating not only a small amount of energy – but also imaginative, interactive experiences and data, to help educate, engage and enable meaningful actions around sustainability and Net Zero intent. Pavegen calls this Citizen Impact; powered by Pavegen.
Pavegen helps power Kinetic Street Furniture applications such as USB charging, LED lights, and Green Wall irrigation systems, whilst data from the system can be used for public educational purposes on digital display screens. Kinetic Brand Experiences at live events, expos, festivals and public spaces produce data to provide gamified experiences that help brands engage meaningfully with consumers.
The company was founded in 2009 by Laurence Kemball-Cook who invented the Kinetic Paving technology that can now be seen in over 37 countries around the world.