Electric vehicle uptake booming in the UK

UK may have taken a conservative turn recently, but – unlike Australia – this does not seem to have altered its course on the path to a low-carbon future.

Not only is the United Kingdom continuing to lead Europe’s solar uptake – government incentives helped to add 2.4GW to the domestic market in 2014, and a third to Europe’s overall 7GW of growth – but its electric vehicle uptake is booming.

According to the most recent data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), EV registrations in the UK between January and May of 2015 are already roughly equal to total EV registrations for the whole of 2014.

SMMT record show 11,842 ultra-low-emission vehicles (ULEVs) have been registered in the UK this year (as of the end of May), compared to 2,838 units registered during January – May 2014.

And of those 11,842 ULEVs registered, 3,772 were all-electric vehicles, marking a 99 per cent year-on-year improvement over the same period during 2014.

As EV Obsession notes (via CleanTechnica), the SMMT puts this growth down to the fact that UK consumers are becoming more acquainted with the advantages of ULEVs, as well as to the increased offerings now on the market — 20 different ULEVs models now, as compared to only 6 back in 2011.

“The remarkable growth in demand for plug-in vehicles is expected to continue as the range of ultra-low emission vehicles on sale increases,” said SMMT CEO Mike Hawes.

To put this in some perspective, in Australia, the cumulative number of plug-in electric vehicles registered in Australia at the end of 2014 reached a total of 1909.