Plug-in electric vehicles made up one in ten cars sold in 2020

Plug-in electric vehicles accounted for more than one in ten cars registered in the UK during 2020, new figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) have revealed.

Sales of pure electric vehicles nearly tripled year-on-year from 37,850 to 108,305, with their market share more than quadrupling from 1.6 per cent to 6.6 per cent.

Plug-in hybrid sales almost doubled from 34,984 to 66,877 as their market share jumped from 1.5 cent to 4.1 per cent. Registrations of mild hybrid electric vehicles also grew to more than 180,000, giving them a market share of 11 per cent.

Their success went against the trend in the wider market, which saw overall car registrations fall by nearly 30 per cent to around 1.63 million. Sales of petrol cars fell by 39 per cent to just over 900,000, whilst sales of diesel cars plunged by a whopping 55 per cent to around 262,000.

The growth of EVs was even more obvious in the final month of the year, with pure electric and plug-in hybrids comprising almost one in four registrations (23.4 per cent) in December.

The Tesla Model 3 was the UK’s most popular new car during the month, generating sales of 5,798. Volkwagen’s new ID.3 also grabbed fourth position with registrations of 3,188. However, neither managed to break into the top ten best sellers over the whole of 2020.

SMMT said there are now more 100 plug-in electric car models available to buy in the UK.  Manufacturers are expected to bring another 35 to market during 2021 – more than the number of either petrol or diesel vehicles.

“To increase uptake will require others to match the industry’s commitment to electrification and SMMT will continue to work with government on the detail of a strategy to deliver a successful, rapid transition that benefits all of society and safeguards automotive manufacturing with sufficient battery production capacity,” the trade association stated.