EV registrations see a strong increase in May

Electric car registrations passed the 100,000 unit threshold in May, marking a strong increase in sales.

According to figures released by SMMT, May saw 3,000 plug-in car sales, which could be down to recent changes in car tax and uncertainty over forthcoming diesel regulations.

Pure EV sales have benefited from a 79 per cent increase in registrations in comparison to the same period last year.

The figure was over a quarter more than in April, and has seen more than 6,000 pure EVs registered so far this year. This is up almost half on the same period in 2016.

Plug-in hybrid (PHEV) models have also seen a slight increase of 19 per cent with almost 2,200 sales. PHEV registrations are continuing to outperform EVs and held 70 per cent of the plug-in market share in May.

Registrations of Plug-in Car Grant (PiCG) eligible models still make up the vast majority of plug-in car sales and are up a third compared to May 2016 at almost 3,000.

New car registrations currently sit at just over 185,000 for May, which means that plug-in car sales sit at 1.7 per cent for the month.

This shows a steady growth in comparison to the 1.2 per cent in May 2016.

There were 8,258 alternatively-fuelled vehicles (AFVs) sold, with 3,117 of those plug-in cars.

Petrol hybrid models have benefited from a slump in diesel confidence, with their often comparable fuel economy and emissions figures taking some sales.

Total AFV registrations improved almost 50 per cent from May 2016 and make up a 4.4 per cent market share.