Three quarters of a million EVs now on UK roads
The number of vehicles in the UK grew 0.4% to 40,506,971 in 2021, according to new Motorparc data released today by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), with more plug-in electric cars, vans, trucks and buses put on Britain’s roads amid highly challenging pandemic and economic conditions.
Despite the increase, major shortages of key components and supply chain disruptions across the globe caused new car registrations to remain broadly static at 1.65 million, with car ownership falling -0.2% to 35,023,652 vehicles.
Electric vehicle ownership continues to grow rapidly, as billions of pounds of automotive industry investment in zero-emission cars, vans, trucks, buses and coaches delivers an ever-growing choice of models. Nearly three quarters of a million vehicles on the road today can be plugged in, including 720,053 cars, 26,990 vans, 993 buses and 313 trucks.
While electric car uptake is growing rapidly, accounting for around one in five new registrations, plug-ins still only represent around one in 50 cars on the road, demonstrating the scale of the challenge ahead in convincing every driver to make the switch. Meanwhile, there are some 20.5 million petrol cars and 13 million diesels making up 58.6% and 37.1% of the car parc respectively, a combined total of 95.7%.
Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: “Britain’s switch to electric vehicles continues to gather pace, with a record one in five new car registrations now plug-ins. However, they still represent around one in 50 cars on the road, so there is significant ground to cover if we are to fully decarbonise road transport at pace.”