The DfT’s data shows a total of 57,207 electric, plug-in hybrid and hydrogen fuel cell passenger cars registered in the United Kingdom in the first quarter of 2016. That’s 0.18% of the 31.4 million total passenger cars on the road, including models which aren’t eligible for the government’s Plug-in Car Grant.
Audi A3 e-tron, Mitsubishi Outlander and BMW i3 plug-ins
Discounting anomalies due to small volume areas, the West Midlands has the highest concentration of these vehicles, at 8,146 units or 0.27% of a total 2.98 million passenger cars in the region. Within that, 5,449 are registered in Birmingham – that’s almost one in every 100 vehicles, and only just behind the 6,094 in the London Boroughs.
At 0.92% of all passenger cars, that means Birmingham residents are four times more likely to own a ULEV than those living in Greater London (where these account for 0.23% of the total).
In England, one in every 500 registered cars (0.20%) is a now plug-in hybrid, electric or hydrogen fuel cell model, with uptake skewed towards the south of the country. The North East, North West, Yorkshire and East Midlands were all significantly below that overall average.
By region or local authority, the largest concentrations are found in the Cotswolds (2.03%), Peterborough (1.59%) and Slough (1.52%).
Uptake is slower in the other nations. Scotland has 3,041 ULEVs registered, or 0.13% of a total parc of 2.42m, with Glasgow (408 vehicles) and Edinburgh (252 vehicles) as the largest by volume. The technology is also finding a home in the Islands, with the Shetland Islands at 0.20% and the Orkneys at 0.74% – though obviously of a much smaller overall parc.
That falls to 0.13% (903 vehicles) in Northern Ireland, while in Wales, 0.09% (1,320 of 1,52m vehicles) are plug-ins, with Swansea recording the highest number of registered vehicles (171 units).
Source: EV Fleet World