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 in February.
New registrations of pure-electric cars showed a year-on-year increase of over 18%, with 12,310 models sold. Pure-electric cars came in second in terms of market share, behind only petrol cars. Indeed, pure-electric cars, or BEVs, accounted for 16.5% of all new car sales last month.
However, it’s not only electric cars that have demonstrated growth. New EV charging statistics from Zap-Map show that there are now officially more than 38,000 public charging devices in the UK, with 38,982 total charging devices across the country at the end of February.
What’s more, key segments of the UK’s charging infrastructure continue to show impressive growth, such as ultra-rapid charging devices, which have seen an 82% increase since February last year.
The Zap-Map graph below shows the number of new battery-electric cars registered each month over the the past 13 months.
February 2023 saw a total of 17,033 new plug-in car registrations, comprising 12,310 BEVs and 4,723 PHEVs.
This takes the cumulative total of plug-in cars on UK roads – as of the end of February – to over 1,155,000. That total comprises over 690,000 BEVs and more than 460,000 PHEVs.
The chart above displays the cumulative number of battery-electric cars in the UK since 2016.
So far in 2023, 29,607 BEVs have been sold in the UK, alongside 13,823 PHEVs.
Last month’s sales saw plug-in cars take 22.8% of market share, with BEVs accounting for 16.5% of overall car sales in February.
This means that plug-in cars currently represent 21% of market share in 2023, with PHEVs at 6.7%.
Last month also saw the Tesla Model Y come in at number six in the top 10 bestsellers, selling 1,482 models in February.
What’s more, the latest EV charging statistics from Zap-Map show that 1,250 new charging devices were installed across the country last month. This brings the UK total to 38,982 devices, across 23,066 locations. It also represents a 33% increase in the number of charging devices since February 2022.
Furthermore, last month saw 377 new rapid and ultra-rapid charging devices installed, bringing the total to 7,426. This includes an increase of 82% in the number of ultra-rapid devices – capable of adding from 70 miles in as little as 15 minutes – since February last year.
Looking ahead, the Department for Transport has announced a £56 million expansion of charging infrastructure, while SWARCO is launching a new ultra-rapid charging network, PoGo.
