Skip to main content

Moneybarn: 1,800% increase in UK electric car registrations over five year period

Nearly 10,000 electric cars are now registered in the UK with Japanese and German manufacturers dominating most popular brands in the UK, according to a five-year analysis on the development of the Electric vehicle industry by Moneybarn. These findings have been revealed following the government’s plan to ban the sale of all petrol and diesel vehicles from 2040.
November 2, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
Nearly 10,000 electric cars are now registered in the UK with Japanese and German manufacturers dominating most popular brands in the UK, according to a five-year analysis on the development of the Electric vehicle industry by Moneybarn. These findings have been revealed following the government’s plan to ban the sale of all petrol and diesel vehicles from 2040.


The growth in sales suggest that Electric vehicles (EVs) are no longer considered niche specialist vehicles with most popular manufacturers bringing out their own versions. In 2016, figures showed that Japan’s Mitsubishi’s Outlander had the highest market share of 7,572, followed by Nissan Leaf, 5,535. Germany’s Mercedes C Class came next with 5,164 followed by the BMW 3 Series 4,637. The lowest market share of 1,378 is held by is Germany’s Volkswagen Golf, which is 116 less than France’s Renault Zoe, whose market share is at 1,494.

Figures from the Department of Transport registrations of Ultra Low Emission Vehicles (ULEVs) have increased by 1,864% since 2011 which has seen the number of EVs registered on Britain’s roads rise from 2,129 five years ago to almost 100,000 at the end of last year. In addition, the increased demand from the British public for ULEVs is reflected by government initiatives and budget plans. The recent Clean Growth Strategy proposal suggests there will be an investment of £1 billion ($1.3 billion) to support the take-up of electric and other low-emission vehicles.

A standardised green score from the Council for Energy-Efficient Economy has revealed that most of the best cars for efficiency and emissions are purely electric models and the list of the most highly-rated is dominated by Asian Toyota, Mitsubishi and Nissan.

Simon Bayley, sales and marketing director of Moneybarn, said: “It’s a potentially exciting time for the UK car industry. Electric and alternative energy cars have now moved into the mainstream and are here to stay. With the government investing £1b in this sector there is an alignment between manufacturers and government that will hopefully encourage consumer purchasing for years to come.”  

A full breakdown of the number of registrations from 2011 to 2016 is available on the %$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 link-external website false https://www.moneybarn.com/emission-impossible/ false false%>.

Related Content

  • SwRI sponsors ITS America with $1,000 student essay competition
    February 14, 2018
    Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) is inviting U.S. students to take part in an essay competition to share their visions for the future of transportation with a $1,000 (£720) prize and a trip to ITS America 2018, in Detroit, from the 4-7 June. It is aimed at providing students an opportunity to apply their knowledge in a thought-provoking manner. The topic, ‘How do you envision disruptive consumer technology will affect transportation systems over the next 10 years?’ is open to transportation, engineering
  • Parliamentary council urges UK gov to support EC safety proposals
    May 18, 2018
    A key UK safety body is calling for legislative action on European Commission vehicle safety proposals. The Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (PACTS) wants the EC’s third mobility package to be adopted by the UK government. These measures are part of the Juncker Commission’s initiative to implement less polluting vehicles in Europe and provide more advanced technological solutions. This package outlines a new road safety policy framework for 2020-2030 and is accompanied by two legislativ
  • Hyundai and Kia invest $300m in ride-hailing firm Ola
    March 29, 2019
    Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors are investing $300 million in ride-hailing firm Ola to develop smart mobility solutions in India. The partners will also work together to develop fleet solutions as well as electric vehicles (EV) and infrastructure. Hyundai will work with Kia and Ola to develop cars for a ride-hailing service. Data gathered during the service operation will allow the companies to make vehicle improvements. Ola drivers will receive various financial services including lease and instalment pa
  • Heliox delivers charging infrastructure for e-buses in Czech Republic
    November 13, 2018
    Heliox has delivered a fast-charging network for electric buses operating in Ostrava, Czech Republic, in a bid to reduce emissions. The deployment supports the country’s stated ambition to gradually phasing out diesel-powered buses. Heliox’s OC 450 kW chargers are expected to provide Ekova Electric’s e-buses with ‘opportunity charging’, which allows batteries to be charged several times during the work cycle (usually eight hours). The company says the system utilises a pantograph to begin chargin