Figures recently released show that the Nissan LEAF maintains its position as the most popular electric car or van in the UK, with at least 5,838 vehicles registered by the third quarter of 2014, representing over a third of all EV sales.
The registration data also shows the new Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV has made a dramatic entry to the UK market; the electric SUV is already in second position with over 2,706 sales less than a year after its UK release.
In third and fourth places are two more established plug-in hybrids, the Toyota Prius PHEV (with 1,226 registrations) and the Vauxhall Ampera (1,309 vehicles). The BMW i3 now ranks fifth with at least 1,029 UK registrations (454 all-electric and 575 range-extender variants).
The Renault ZOE and Tesla Model S are also selling well in the UK with over 775 and 474 sales respectively; the two models in fourth and fifth sales positions across Europe as a whole (YTD October 2014).
With the recent announcement from OLEV that 23,083 claims have been made through the Plug-in Car Grant scheme, the number of electric cars and vans in the UK now exceeds 24,500 vehicles for the first time.
Another indicator that the EV market is gaining momentum is the number of fully electric and plug-in hybrid models available in the UK. While only 9 EVs were available for the major manufacturers in 2011 (excluding quadricycles), this increased to 18 models in 2013, and now stands at 24 high-quality cars and vans (in 2014) with more models due for launch in 2015.
Dr Ben Lane, Director of Next Green Car said: “The strong growth of the EV market in the UK as elsewhere provides yet more evidence that the light-duty vehicle market is undergoing a radical change with consumer preferences changing from petrol and diesel models to electric power-trains. With sales growing exponentially, the EVs are set to become commonplace on UK roads within the next few years.”
Download the ULEV registration chart 2012-20124 as a PDF
Vehicle Licensing Statistics, Next Green Car, cleantechnica.com
