The latest figures on sales of new plug-in vehicles from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) show that new plug-in vehicle registrations accounted for more than a quarter of overall vehicle sales in February.
Indeed, plug-in vehicles comprised more than 25% of overall vehicle sales last month, with battery-electric vehicles (BEV) accounting for almost 18% of all new car registrations.
In contrast, sales of internal combustion engine vehicles were down, with diesel, petrol and mild-hybrid diesel sales decreasing significantly on February last year. In terms of absolute numbers, sales of BEVs came in second place last month: behind only petrol vehicles.
February was also a good month for Tesla, which saw two of its models enter the top ten bestsellers in the UK – one for the first time.
See the Zap-Map graph below for the number of new plug-in registrations by month over the the past 13 months.
February 2022 saw a total of 15,094 new plug-in vehicle registrations, comprising 10,417 BEVs and 4,677 PHEVs. This takes the cumulative total of plug-in vehicles on UK roads – as of the end of February – to over 780,000. That total comprises around 420,000 BEVs and 360,000 PHEVs.
In terms of absolute numbers, sales of BEVs came in second place last month – behind only sales of conventional petrol vehicles. So far in 2022, almost 25,000 BEVs have been sold in the UK, alongside nearly 14,000 PHEVs.
Last month’s sales saw plug-in vehicles’ market share increase from January’s 20.4%, with BEVs and PHEVs accounting for 25.6% of overall vehicle sales in February. This means that plug-in vehicles currently represent 22.2% of market share in 2022, with BEVs at 14.3% and PHEVs at 7.9%.
Last year, there were more than 190,000 sales of BEVs in the UK, with over 114,000 sales of PHEVs. Indeed, 2021 saw the biggest ever annual increase in number of registrations, with a growth of 74% on 2020. This upwards trend only looks set to continue in 2022.
In terms of the top ten bestsellers, February was a good month for Tesla – in the UK at least. Both the Tesla Model Y and Tesla Model 3 entered the top ten last month, in fourth and fifth positions respectively. There were 1,306 sales of the Model Y, followed closely by 1,275 sales of the Model 3. It is the first time the Model Y has entered the top ten in the UK.
Furthermore, important steps forward are also being made in terms of the UK’s EV charging infrastructure. Not only has GRIDSERVE Electric Highway opened its first EV charging hub in Wales, but rapid charging network InstaVolt – known for its reliability and ease of use – has activated its 700th charging device and expects to install its 1,000th EV charger by summer 2022.
