The UK’s electric vehicle (EV) market grew by a record-breaking 19% in 2018, with one EV being registered every nine minutes.
That is a key finding of a new research paper from pro-EV campaign group Go Ultra Low, which found that almost 60,000 fully-electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles were registered in the UK last year.
Published today (21 January), the research draws on the latest official Government figures, revealing that the uptake of EVs grew at a similar rate between the UK’s business and domestic car users throughout 2018.
Electric car sales are expected to overtake petrol by 2040
In total, 59,911 EVs were registered in the UK last year, of which 74% were plug-in hybrids, the paper claims. While only 26% of EV registrations were for fully-electric models, this was still an increase on 2017’s 14% proportion.
The registrations mean that the nation’s total EV stock now stands at more than 196,300 vehicles, following seven consecutive years of growth.
Go Ultra Low has predicted that the EV revolution will continue to take hold in 2019, as carmakers launch new electric models and the Government begins distributing the first string of funding set out in its Road to Zero strategy.
“In the context of the wider new car market, it is fantastic to see plug-in car registrations continue to go from strength-to-strength” Go Ultra Low’s head, Poppy Welch, said.
“With even more new models being released, coupled with the introduction of initiatives such as London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone, we’re confident that the next 12 months will be a landmark year for the nation’s switch to electric.”
According to Go Ultra Low, some of the more noteworthy EV releases in 2019 will be the all-electric Kia e-Niro, Audi e-tron and Nissan LEAF. The Nissan LEAF 3.ZERO e+ Limited Edition – of which only 5,000 units will be produced for the European market – is expected to deliver a driving range of up to 239 miles on a single charge of the 62kWh capacity battery.
Read more: Edie