UK hits one million EVs milestone

Britain registered its one millionth electric vehicle in January, according to a recent report from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

Since 2002, 1,001,677 electric vehicles have been sold in the UK, with 20,935 registered in January. Overall, the first month of the year saw 142,876 new cars registered - a rise of 10,882 units – making it the best performance for the month since 2020 and the 18th consecutive month of growth. 

BEV market share for January also grew year on year to 14.7%, although this is below the full 2023 performance of 16.5%. Plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) recorded volume growth of 31.1% to take 8.4% of the market, while hybrid (HEV) volumes fell -1.2% with a 13.1% share.

Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said: “It’s taken just over 20 years to reach our million EV milestone – but with the right policies, we can double down on that success in just another two. Market growth is currently dependent on businesses and fleets. Government must therefore use the upcoming Budget to support private EV buyers, temporarily halving VAT to cut carbon, drive economic growth and help everyone make the switch. Manufacturers have been asked to supply the vehicles, we now ask government to help consumers buy the vehicles on which net zero depends.”

“It’s taken just over 20 years to reach our million EV milestone – but with the right policies, we can double down on that success in just another two."

Zapmap reported that, in January 2024, 14.7% of all new car registrations were electric cars, with 20,935 new electric cars registered.

Note that, in the UK, March and September are new registration plate months, which accounts for the twice-yearly peaks in electric car sales and, historically, a drop in market share in these periods.

The uptake in registrations in January was driven by the fleet market, according to the SMMT. Fleets accounted for more than six in 10 (63.2%) new cars registered, up from just over half (52.7%) last year.

The latest 2024 outlook for the new car market estimates a total overall volume of 1.974 million units, which is a 4,000 unit increase on the October estimate, but with the BEV forecast reduced to a market share of 21.0% over the year, compared with the 22.3% anticipated in October and the 23.3% expected a year ago.