2016 has been a very successful time for car sales, and it's not just petrol and diesel that have enjoyed all the spoils. Electric vehicles have seen a very healthy rate of sales in the first quarter of the year, with 10,496 cars rolling out of dealerships which equates to one every 13 minutes. These figures come from Go Ultra Low and Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders show the best figures since Plug-In Car grant was introduced in 2011.
Because of these numbers there have been over 58,000 cars registered using the Plug-In Car Grant which is triple the number at the start of 2015. This quarter's success is a 23% improvement on the figures at the same point last year. Figures like this will put the UK on course to be the leading market in the EU for electric vehicle sales, which will see us overtake the Netherlands who have been the leaders for the past 12 months.
Transport Minister Andrew Jones, said: “These record figures show that hundreds of people every week are coming round to the fact that plug-in cars are cleaner, greener and cheaper to run. The UK is a world leader in the uptake of low emission vehicles and our long-term economic plan is investing £600 million by 2020 to improve air quality, create jobs and achieve our goal of every new car and van in the UK being ultra-low emission by 2040.”
Poppy Welch, Head of Go Ultra Low, said: “This continued and steep growth in uptake of plug-in cars is testament to how electric vehicles are becoming a natural choice for increasing numbers of new car buyers. With low running costs, tax exemptions and free parking in many locations, many more motorists should be considering a plug-in vehicle as their next car. As registrations records continue to be set and the rate of EV growth carries on, it’s no longer a question of will more motorists choose electric, but when.”