Uptake of electric cars continued to rise steeply in Q2 of 2016, helping to ensure a record first half performance.

Electric car registrations for H1 were up 31.8% on the same period in 2015

For the April-June period, 38.0% more electric cars were registered compared to the same timeframe in 2015, building on a 27.4% pick-up in the first quarter. As a result, electric car registrations for the first half of the year were 31.8% ahead of the same period in 2015. Plug-in registrations totalled 19,252 for the year-to-date, 4,640 units ahead of the same period last year.

Transport Minister John Hayes said: “I am delighted to see record numbers of motorists coming round to the benefits of cleaner, greener vehicles, which are also cheaper to run.

“We want to make the UK a world leader in electric vehicle uptake and manufacture, to ensure that by 2050 every car and van on our roads is a zero emission vehicle. We are backing this with one of the most comprehensive support packages in the world, with more than £600m of government investment to help grow the UK market.”

Poppy Welch, head of the Go Ultra Low campaign, added: “The continued growth in uptake of electric cars speaks for itself as registration records continue to be broken by motorists encouraged by the benefits electric motoring can bring. As awareness grows and motorists see the wide variety of vehicles already on UK roads coupled with benefits such as running costs from as little as 2p per mile, more drivers than ever are becoming motivated to go green. Since the introduction of the Plug-In Car Grant was introduced in 2011 the variety of electric models has expanded significantly, notably so in the past two years, giving motorists more choice than ever before.”