There are now more than half a million pure-electric cars on UK roads

Over 20% of new cars sold in November were fully electric

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Zapmap
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New statistics from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) and Zap-Map show both new car registrations and the growth of electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure for the month of November.

New registrations of pure-electric cars showed a strong year-on-year increase of 35.2%, with 29,372 cars sold. Pure-electric vehicles came in second in terms of market share, behind only petrol cars, and accounted for a fifth of all new car sales last month.

It’s not only electric cars that have shown an increase, however. New EV charging statistics from Zap-Map show that there are now officially more than 36,000 public charging devices in the UK, with 36,752 total charging devices across the country at the end of November.

What’s more, certain areas of the UK’s charging infrastructure continue to show impressive growth, such as ultra-rapid charging devices, which have seen a 76% increase since November last year.

The Zap-Map graph below shows the number of new battery-electric cars registered each month over the the past 13 months.

november 2022 new pure-electric car registrations

November 2022 saw a total of 39,558 new plug-in car registrations, comprising 29,372 BEVs and 10,186 PHEVs.

This takes the cumulative total of plug-in cars on UK roads – as of the end of November – to over 1,050,000. That total comprises over 620,000 BEVs and more than 440,000 PHEVs.

november 2022 cumulative pure-electric car registrations

The chart above displays the cumulative number of battery-electric cars in the UK since 2016.

So far in 2022, almost 225,000 BEVs have been sold in the UK, alongside more than 93,000 PHEVs.

annual plug-in vehicle market share as of november 2022

Last month’s sales saw plug-in cars take 27.7% of market share, with BEVs accounting for 20.6% of overall car sales in November.

This means that plug-in cars currently represent 21.4% of market share in 2022, with BEVs at 15.1% and PHEVs at 6.3%.

November also saw the Tesla Model Y enter the top ten best sellers, coming in at number two with 4,229 models sold. This also means that the Model Y is in the top ten year-to-date, coming in ninth with 24,887 models sold in the first 11 months of the year.

What’s more, the latest EV charging statistics from Zap-Map show that 1,507 new charging devices were installed across the country in November. This brings the UK total to 36,752 devices, across 21,906 locations. It also represents a 33% increase in the number of charging devices since November 2021.

Furthermore, last month saw 250 new rapid and ultra-rapid charging devices installed, bringing the total to 6,712. This includes an increase of 76% in the number of ultra-rapid devices – capable of adding from 70 miles in as little as 15 minutes – since November last year.

Looking ahead, Be.EV and Trafford Council have launched the first of 100 new charging points in Greater Manchester, while City Hall has identified sites on the Transport for London Road Network that will be suitable for a further 100 ultra-rapid charge points.