Registrations of alternatively fuelled cars and light vans rose 27.7% in 2017, according to new figures from JATO Dynamics.

Global market share for alternatively fuelled light vehicle registrations hit 4.4% in 2017; an increase of 0.9 percentage points when compared to 2016.

The increase took alternatively fuelled vehicle (AFV) volumes to 3.79 million units, giving a market share of 4.4%, an increase of 0.9 percentage points when compared to 2016.

The data also showed that petrol cars and LCVs continued to dominate the market in 2017, with 72.5% market share, while diesel registrations declined by 3.7%, due to the fuel type’s strong dependence on the European region which accounted for two in three diesel cars sold in 2017, despite regulation on a national level aiming to reduce reliance on diesel vehicles. Outside of Europe, Thailand, New Zealand and South Korea all remain strong markets for diesels.

In total, 86.05 million cars and LCVs were registered globally last year, up 2.4% on 2016, driven by soaring demand in Europe, Asia-Pacific and Latin America while SUVs also contributed significantly to the automotive industry’s strong performance.