Top 10 selling electric cars in Britain | Plymouth Herald
The number of electric
cars on Britain’s roads has more than doubled in the last year, according to new government data.
There were 45,326 plug-in and hybrid cars on the streets at the end of last year compared to just 20,522 the year before – a 120 per cent increase.
This compares to just a two per cent rise in the sales of traditional cars over the same period.
It represents a phenomenal growth since 2010, when there were just 134 electric vehicles on the roads, according Driver and Vehicle Licencing Agency (DVLA) data.
Growth has accelerated rapidly since the Government introduced the plug-in car grant scheme at the start of 2011, which offers up to £4,500 off the price.
However, the number of electric vehicles is still just a tiny fraction of the 31 million petrol and diesel engined cars in the UK.
The best-selling fully electric car in the UK is the Nissan Leaf, 11,219 on the road but this is dwarfed by the hybrid Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV with 16,100 models.
Edward Jones, electric vehicle manager
at Nissan GB, believes the UK electric vehicle market is at a ‘tipping point’.
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“Each year we see thousands more motorists switched on to the capability, performance, andreliability
of pure electric motoring,” he said.
“With current electric vehicle ranges enabling more than 90 per cent of daily driving needs, we believe the UK is at a tipping point for mass EV adoption.”
Richard Hudson, sales director at BMW UK, said advances in technology are overcoming the drawbacks of electric motoring.
“Range anxiety is subsiding due to increased battery capacity – the latest i3 has 50 per cent more capacity than the original – and there is an increasing number of charging stations and other incentives.
“As an example, the 330d PHEV is already sold out until next year. We expect this trend
of greater take up of electric and PHEVs to continue.”
* Top ten selling electric and hybrid cars (number of licensed vehicles recorded by the DVLA that are eligible for a plug in grant):
Top 10 selling electric cars
- Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV 16,100
- Nissan Leaf 11,219
- BMW i3 3,574
- Renault Zoe 3,327
- Tesla Model S 2,086
- Toyota Prius Plug in 1,501
- Volkswagen Golf GTE plug in hybrid 1,359
- Vauxhall Ampera Plug in hybrid 1,250
- Audi A3 e-tron 1,218
- BMW i8 1,022
Source: http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/10-selling-electric-cars-Britain/story-29282931-detail/story.html
