With increasing consumer demand, greater availability of electric models and government support, electric car sales have been growing strongly and there are now over 690,000 battery-electric cars on UK roads, plus a further 460,000 plug-in hybrids.
On this electric vehicle (EV) market stats page, Zap-Map tracks the cumulative number of electric vehicles on UK roads, the growth in electric vehicle sales, and the proportion of new car sales that are electric – either battery-electric vehicles or plug-in hybrids. You can also track the number of electric vans being sold.
In addition to this electric car sales data, Zap-Map tracks EV charging statistics and also offers various insight reports as well as the annual EV Charging Survey, designed to assist organisations of all types in making the switch to electric vehicles. Please get in touch for more information on data_requests@zap-map.com.
Third parties are welcome to use the Zap-Map charts, showing growth in the EV market over time, as long as the Zap-Map logo is maintained on the chart, and acknowledgement is added, ideally with a link back to https://www.zap-map.com in the body of the article. The data must be strictly copied and updated manually, no automated data collection can be applied in any form. The data can only published in its original state and without any modifications.
How many electric cars are there in the UK?
The chart below shows the number of electric cars registered in the UK – as of the end of February 2023 there were more than 690,000 battery-electric cars.
More than 265,000 battery-electric cars were registered in 2022, a growth of 40% on 2021.
Cumulative number of battery-electric cars in the UK (2016 to date)
Source: SMMT, February 2023
What proportion of cars sold each month are electric?
Electric car registrations continue to rise in absolute numbers, with 12,310 new registrations of battery-electric cars in February 2023, giving BEVs a market share of 16.5% of all new car registrations.
Note that, in the UK, March and September are new registration plate months, which accounts for the twice-yearly peaks in electric car sales and, historically, a drop in market share in these periods.
Number of new battery-electric cars registered by month
Source: SMMT, February 2023
How many plug-in cars are there in the UK?
The chart below shows the number of plug-in cars registered in the UK. As of the end of February 2023, there were more than 1,155,000 plug-in cars with approximately 690,000 BEVs and 460,000 PHEVs registered.
Last year, more than 365,000 plug-in hybrid and battery-electric cars were registered, showing a growth of 20% on 2021. There was also a significant shift away from plug-in hybrids towards battery-electric cars, with plug-in hybrid sales declining year on year, while battery-electric vehicle sales have increased.
Cumulative number of plug-in cars registered in the UK (2016 to date)
Source: SMMT, February 2023
Number of new plug-in car registrations by month
The chart below shows the number of registrations and market share of plug-in cars each month over the past 13 months.
Source: SMMT, February 2023
Electric car registrations continue to rise in absolute numbers, with 17,033 new registrations in February 2023 (12,310 BEVs and 4,723 PHEVs), the market share last month was 22.8%. Note that, in the UK, March and September are new registration plate months, which accounts for the twice-yearly peaks in new car sales and drop in market share in these periods.
Electric car sales: How has the electric car market share grown over time?
As shown in the chart, the number of electric cars as a proportion of all new cars continues to grow each year.
In 2015, just 1.1% of new vehicles registered had a plug, compared to 3.2% in 2019. By the end of December 2022, this figure had accelerated to 22.9% (16.6% BEV and 6.3% PHEV). These numbers reflect both the increase in demand for electric vehicles and the decline in demand for traditional, particularly diesel, cars.
Annual market share – plug-in market share of new car registrations (2016 to date)
Source: SMMT, February 2023
Since 2019, the gap between the percentage of PHEV sales and BEV sales has widened, as BEVs continue to grow in popularity. In 2023, we only expect to see this trend accelerate as BEVs appeal to an increasing number of drivers.
How many electric vans are there in the UK?
Last year, the number of electric vans sold in the UK picked up significantly. One factor here is increased demand, but the upwards trend is also thanks to a large number of new models coming to market, seeing what was once a very small choice of models expand dramatically.
Find out more in our Guide to Electric Vans, or see the charts below to see the profile of new registrations of battery-electric vans in the UK since 2020.
Cumulative number of battery-electric vans registered in the UK (2020 to date)
Source: SMMT, February 2023
The chart above shows the number of battery-electric vans registered in the UK since 2020. As of the end of February 2023, there were more than 36,000 electric vans in the UK.
Last year saw the biggest annual increase in the number of electric van registrations, with almost 17,000 electric vans registered, showing a growth of 30% on 2021.
How many new electric vans are registered each month?
The chart below shows the number of registrations of battery-electric vans each month in 2022 and 2023. Electric van registrations continue to rise in absolute numbers, with 996 new registrations in February 2023.
Number of new battery-electric van registrations by month
Source: SMMT, February 2023
How has the market share of electric vans grown over time?
As shown in the chart, the number of electric vans as a proportion of all new vans increased from 3.6% in 2021 to 5.9% in 2022. We only expect this percentage to increase as we move further into 2023.
Annual market share – battery-electric market share of new van registrations (2012 to date)
Source: SMMT, February 2023
Please note that third parties can use this data provided the source is clearly attributed to Zap-Map, any graphs include the Zap-Map logo, and a link is added back to https://www.zap-map.com in the body of the article. The data must be strictly copied and updated manually, no automated data collection can be applied in any form. The data can only published in its original state and without any modifications.
