Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) are now the second most registered car type in the UK this year, with more than 175,000 sold, taking the total registered past a million.
This figure (175,614) is 40.3% up on the same point last year, when just 125,141 BEVs had been registered, but still trails petrol cars by 350,185 so far in 2022, according to figures released today by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
It comes as 225,269 new cars were registered in September, the new-plate month traditionally seen as one of the most fruitful of the year.
Registrations were up 9957 (215,312) on September 2021 but down 117,986 (343,255) on pre-pandemic September 2019.
This has been partly blamed on continued material supply problems – mainly caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine – and the backlog of orders creating long wait times and thus putting buyers off, SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said.
This follows from last month, when SMMT figures revealed that the UK was producing 42,257 fewer cars than in 2019, a drop of 45.9%, sparking urgent calls for aid to keep the UK competitive with the rest of the globe.
“The overall market remains weak as supply-chain issues continue to constrain model availability,” Hawes said today. “Whilst the industry is working hard to address these issues, the long-term recovery of the market also depends on robust consumer confidence and economic stability.”
He added: “September has seen Britain’s millionth electric car reach the road – an important milestone in the shift to zero-emissions mobility. Battery electric vehicles make up but a small fraction of cars on the road, so we need to ensure every lever is pulled to encourage motorists to make the shift if our green goals are to be met.”
Despite a rise in the registration of BEVs, which have a market share of 14.5% this year and 16.9% in September, plug-in electric vehicles registrations (12,281) were down 11.5% on last September (13,884).
The biggest drop was experienced by mild-hybrid diesels (8581), down 25% (11,448).
Conventional diesels also slumped 3.1% from 10,658 to 10,330, but a year-to-date drop of 43% compared with the first nine months of 2021 illustrates buyers’ views on the formerly popular powertrain option.
Petrol cars, which along with diesels will be outlawed from sale in the UK from 2030, were also hit, down 2.8% to 91,679 registrations, despite making up 40.7% of the overall September market.
The figures also revealed that buying habits of UK drivers are firmly pushing towards larger vehicles, with the Nissan Qashqai (9311) followed by the Tesla Model Y (8315) as the most registered cars in September.
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Only take another 128 years at this rate to replace the 32 million non-BEVs on the road.
Someone doesn't understand growth pattern then
Amazing the effect of almost free CoCar tax, zero road tax, exeption from the +£40,000 road tax hike, and almost zero fuel tax. You have to wonder what is so wonderful about Dino juice that people will still choose it over these tax savings! It must be amazing stuff that most new car buyers are prepared to give up these huge tax give aways we are all paying for