According to the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), overall car sales in the UK were up 27.5 percent during January 2022. What stood out was that battery electric vehicles (BEVs) massively outsold diesel vehicles during the month.
During January, 14,907 battery electric vehicles were registered, while there were just 6,008 diesel registrations. This means zero-emissions electric vehicles (EVs) outsold diesel cars by an incredible 82.4 percent. When compared to 2021, battery electric vehicle sales increased by an impressive 130.6 percent.
Plug-in vehicles, including battery electric vehicles (BEV), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) cars, enjoyed another bumper month accounting for 20.4 percent of the market.
These plugin vehicles combined saw a 92.5 percent increase over the same period last year. With 13,492 HEVs also registered, almost one in three new cars joining British roads in January were electrified.
There are now more than 140 plug-in car models available to UK buyers, with almost 50 more scheduled for release in 2022. Cutting CO2 even further, however, will require more drivers to switch to electric and other zero emission technologies.
The rapid pace of change is underlined by the latest market outlook, which forecasts registrations of BEVs and PHEVs to grow by 61 percent and 42 percent respectively in 2022. This means that by the end of the year almost one in four new cars would come with a plug.
Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said: “Once again it is electrified vehicles that are driving the growth, despite the ongoing headwinds of chip shortages, rising inflation and the cost-of-living squeeze.
“2022 is off to a reasonable start, however, and with around 50 new electrified models due for release this year, customers will have an ever greater choice, which can only be good for our shared environmental ambitions.”
