UK plug-in car registrations continue to rise

The first six months of 2015 has seen a dramatic increase in the registrations of plug-in cars, surpassing the total for the whole of 2014.

According to new analysis by Go Ultra Low, there was 14,586 new registrations of ultra low vehicles from January to June, compared with the 4,096 new registrations over the same period last year. The increasing volume exceeds last year’s 14,498 annual total registrations of vehicles eligible for the government’s Plug-in Car Grant.

From the statistics, it appears the government expectations that five per cent of new car registrations (around 100,000 units) will be ultra low emission by 2020 look to be achievable at the current rate of growth.

Hetal Shah, Head of Go Ultra Low, said: “Being just six months in to 2015 and having already exceeded last year’s total plug-in car registrations is testament to consumer confidence in this capable and cost-effective technology. The year-on-year rises give us great confidence in the future of electric cars as we move towards an ultra low emission future.”

Transport Minister Andrew Jones said: “Soaring demand across the UK shows that more and more people view ultra low emission vehicles as the right choice for them. Plug-in cars are green, cheap to run and benefit both families and businesses. The government is investing £500 million over the next five years to help position Britain as a world leader in the technology, supporting skilled jobs and driving economic growth.”

At present, the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV has received the largest number of new registrations (7,255), followed by the Nissan Leaf (2,964) and the BMW i3 (1,111). Go Ultra Low has also revealed that every region of the United Kingdom recorded a year-to-date increase in registrations.

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