More plug-in cars have been sold in the UK during the first six months of this year than during all of 2014, according to new research from Go Ultra Low.
The government-funded organisation’s data shows that from January to June this year, 14,586 new registrations of plug-in cars were made, compared to just 4,096 in the same period last year.
Representing a hugely significant 256 per cent growth, this means that the record volume has already exceeded the 14,498 plug-in registrations made during all of 2014.
Hetal Shah, head of Go Ultra Low, said: “Being just six months in to 2015 and having already exceeded last year’s total plug-in car registrations is testament to consumer confidence in this capable and cost-effective technology.
“The year-on-year rises give us great confidence in the future of electric cars as we move towards an ultra-low emission future.”
As a result, the government is now expecting that the target it had set of five per cent of new registrations being ultra-low emissions cars by 2020 will be achievable thanks to the strength of sales.
Go Ultra Low claims that the driving force behind the surge in alternatively-fuelled vehicles has been their significantly reduced costs compared with conventional petrol or diesel vehicles.
Mitsubishi led the rush of new registrations, with the Outlander PHEV accruing 7,255 year-to-date registrations, with the Nissan LEAF and BMW i3 close behind in second and third places respectively.
In total, 35 different plug-in car and van models are currently on the market in the UK, with the variety and scale of choice set to expand even further as a result of the registration growth.
Just today, Volvo announced that its plug-in petrol hybrid version of the XC90, the XC90 T8 Twin Engine, will officially qualify for the government’s £5,000 Plug-In Car Grant scheme.
Powered by a 316bhp petrol engine in conjunction with an 86bhp electric motor, the seven-seater SUV can sprint from 0-60mph in as little as 5.3 seconds, but with only 49g/km of CO2 emissions.
Available to buy now, the new Volvo XC90 T8 Twin Engine is priced from £54,955 when taking the Plug-In Car Grant worth £5,000 into account.
