The UK saw electric car sales surge in January, with new registrations reaching a record high as experts celebrate the progress being made to transition away from internal combustion engines.
New data from New AutoMotive reports that electric car sales reached an all-time high for the month of January, with more than one in five new cars being a battery electric vehicle.
This is a huge increase of 34 per cent compared with last year, when just 15 per cent of new cars were electric, which has been backed by major strides made by manufacturers.
The likes of BMW, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, Peugeot, Audi, and Mini all experienced significant increases in sales of EVs, with the latter seeing sales jump fivefold in a year.
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Electric vehicle sales surged to a record high month in January
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January saw the registration of 27,693 electric cars, 1,323 electric vans, 148 zero emission motorbikes and 25 battery HGVs.
This comes amid the backdrop of the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate which requires major car brands to have a minimum percentage of sales come from electric vehicles.
In total, 28 per cent of vehicles sold by major brands will need to be zero emission, although New AutoMotive suggests compliance can be achieved with just 23 per cent of sales being EVs.
This is down to flexibilities in the ZEV mandate policy which allow businesses to offset EV sales targets with increased sales of hybrids and lesser-polluting petrol and diesel cars.
Ben Nelmes, CEO of New AutoMotive, said the growth of EVs in January was a “nice surprise” considering the start of the year normally results in slower sales.
He added: “Even with all the uncertainty around the Government’s review of EV targets, electric car sales are still going up, turning the UK into Europe’s leading EV market.
“Ministers need to keep up the pace – any sudden changes to the rules could put the brakes on all the progress the UK has made and undermine the billions of investment in charging points and battery factories which are set to create thousands of jobs here in the UK.”
In December last year, the Government launched a new consultation to look at whether changes should be made to amend the future of the ZEV mandate, although this has been questioned by motoring experts, who say it could impact the UK’s dominance as the European leader on EVs.
The research also stated that nine of the top 10 sellers of EVs are “legacy” manufacturers who are making the switch from internal combustion engines to electric cars, showing the industry-wide commitment to cleaner transport.
Dan Caesar, CEO of Electric Vehicles UK, also praised the sales boost, adding that the UK would be on track for a greater than 25 per cent BEV market share.
He said: “But, and as in 2024, with the best sales likely at year-end due to the ZEV mechanism, and more affordable EVs launching, we believe the 28 per cent target is achievable.”
Only a handful of brands have a substantial ZEV credit shortfall. Stellantis, Nissan and Hyundai all have a shortfall of more than 585 credits, although these brands are likely to avoid fines of £15,000 per vehicle above the targets.
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Experts are confident that manufacturers will achieve ZEV mandate targets thanks to policy flexibility
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Renault has already sold more EVs than they managed in the first three months of 2024, while Ford has done the same compared to the first five months of last year.
James Court, Policy Director at OctopusEV, said: “January EV sales have smashed expectations.
“A traditionally weak month across all car sales, and yet EVs have gone past 21 per cent market share. Consumers love EVs, the tech, the drive, the money savings.
“With the ZEV mandate consultation in full swing, we hope [the] Government can see that what they are doing is working.”
