PHEV demand more than doubles in January

Plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) demand has more than doubled in January, up +111.1% to 4,788 units, according to SMMT figures. Hybrid electric cars (HEVs) increased by +20.6%, with 8,941 hitting British roads, and battery electric vehicle (BEV) registrations, continued to surge, up 203.9% to 4,054 units and a 2.7% market share.

Combined, alternatively fuelled vehicle registrations reached 11.9% of the market in January – the highest on record, up from 6.8% in the same month last year.

Overall, the UK new car market declined -7.3% with 49,279 vehicles leaving showrooms in January.

Continuing low consumer demand was a key driver behind the decline, with registrations by private buyers down -13.9%, while fleet registrations also fell but by a less significant -2.2%. Registrations of new diesel cars fell for the 34th month, by -36.0% to record the weakest performance since 2000 and just 19.8% share of the market, while petrol demand also declined, by -9.5%.