My Shortfall
Get a Quote
0800 195 4926
UK car market and the electric car
Recent figures suggest that motorists in the United Kingdom are getting charged up about electric vehicles, with record numbers now on the roads in Britain.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders released the figures recently and they suggest that there are over 10,000 electric vehicles on the road today, with around 1,200 being sold in March alone.
In comparison to the same month last year selling just 270 it appears that Britain certainly could be in the middle of an Electric Vehicle revolution, especially when these figures are combined with the 10,200 hybrid vehicles that have been sold so far this year, which is up by 45% in comparison to last year.
Much of this growth will be put down to the wider levels of choice that are being offered to the consumer this year. For example, the Renault Zoe has made the electric vehicle purchase a lot more realistic for buyers. Also, the innovative i3 model from BMW has brought a whole new set of customers into the arena for electric vehicles, many of which may not have been interested in electric vehicles, this time in 2013.
The Department for Transport has also said that this surge in popularity is likely to continue, with a spokesman saying that the uptake of the electric vehicle is gathering pace. There were a record number of plug in grants over the last quarter, which is double the previous quarter, which was a record in itself. There were over six times as many grants issued in January of this year, than there was in the previous year.
Nick Clegg, deputy prime minister announced only last week that the government funded plug in car grant would be continuing until 2017. Under this scheme, electric and hybrid vehicle buyers can save 25%, which can be up to 5,000 off the cost of their vehicles. Clegg also announced a £500,000,000 scheme to boost electric and hybrid car ownership in the United Kingdom, along with plans to allow electric cars to be able to use bus lanes and also park in council car parks for free.