Despite an overall fall is vehicle sales in the UK, sales of 100% Electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles achieved record-breaking levels of popularity in 2017. Unprecedented demand saw registrations increase by more than 27% on the previous year with an ever-expanding range of plug-in vehicles available to motorists. In 2018, annual electric car registrations could reach 60,000 for the first time, retaining the UK’s position as one of Europe’s largest markets for ultra low emission vehicles.
In a landmark year, the total number of plug-in cars on UK roads passed 130,000, as public and business appetite for plug-in hybrid and 100% electric cars reached a new high. From January to December, motorists flocked to buy ultra low emission vehicles, with 46,522 registered in 2017.
The figures provided by Go Ultra Low show that records tumbled throughout the year with every quarter comfortably out-performing 2016. The second half of 2017 recorded in excess of 24,000 registrations of 100% electric and plug-in hybrid cars – up more than 40% on July-December 2016.
Electric car expert Robert Llewellyn commented:
“I’ve been driving electric cars for eight years – they have proved incredibly reliable, cheap to run and easy to use. I’d urge everyone considering a new car to test drive a 100% electric or plug-in hybrid model. In my opinion, put simply, electric cars are the future.”
Across the country, several regions stood out with London (9,274) and Eastern England (8,685) registering the most electric vehicles (EVs), a rise of 42% and 21% respectively on 2016. Meanwhile, the South West and Scotland grew the fastest, boosting plug-in uptake by 140% and 70% respectively against the previous year.
Top five UK regions – Plug-in car total registrations 2017 vs 2016
The demand for 100% electric cars, such as the UK’s best seller – the Nissan LEAF, continued to grow with the sector’s registrations increasing by around a third, to top 13,000. Meanwhile, plug-in hybrid cars like the popular BMW 330e, VW Golf GTE, and Hyundai IONIQ, delivered the highest volume of registrations with more than 33,000 arriving on UK roads, an increase of a quarter versus 2016.
Greater choice of models and growing consumer appetite for ultra low emission cars means that 2018 looks set to be another record breaking year. If similar growth continues, 60,000 vehicles* could be registered during 2018 taking the total number of plug-in cars on our roads to more than 190,000.
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