According to figures just released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), new car sales for June were up 28 percent year-on-year. This is good news but is still way off pre-pandemic figures.
The best selling car in June 2021 was the Tesla Model 3 with 5,468 sales. This outsold all other cars including internal combustion engine models. This is great news and shows the move to zero-emission driving remains strong.
Fortunately, all plug-in vehicles continued to do well accounting for 17.2 percent of all new car registrations. With such a change expected in the types of cars we drive, the latest SMMT research shows electrification could create 40,000 new jobs by 2030. This is great news as we move to driving cleaner zero-emissions vehicles.
Battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales were up 122.9 percent during June compared to 2020. There was a total of 19,842 sales of battery electric vehicles compared to 8,903 in June 2020. So far this year there has been a total of 73,893 zero-emission registrations compared to 30,260 in 2020. This is an impressive 138.7 percent increase year-on-year.
Plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) sales also did well in June with 12,139 sales compared to 4,940 in 2020. This means new sales grew by 145.7 percent. Hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) sales were also positive with 16,150 new registrations compared to 10,225 for the same month last year. This is a 57.9 percent increase.
Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said: “Rebuilding for the next decade is now well underway with investment in local battery production beginning and a raft of new electrified models in showrooms.
“With the end of domestic restrictions later this month looking more likely, business and consumer optimism should improve further, fuelling increased spending, especially as the industry looks towards September and advanced orders for the next plate change.”
