Advert
Battery electric vehicle registrations are up 151.8% according to figures released today by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
All ‘alternatively fuelled’ vehicle registrations (Battery Electric (BEV), Plug-in Hybrid (PHEV) and Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEV)) reached 9.9% market share in the month – the highest on record, up from 6.9% last year.
Hybrid cars increased by 28.9%, to 7,950. Plug-in hybrids fell just short of their figure in the same month last year, down -1.7%.
Registrations of diesel cars fell for the 31st month, down 28.3%, while petrols also declined, by 3.2%.
Green Car Guide’s interpretation of this is that it seems very clear that pure electric cars are the way forward.
Overall, UK new car registrations declined 6.7% last month; 10,348 fewer cars were registered than in October last year, with the SMMT saying that this reflects a tough environment for businesses and consumers as economic and political uncertainty continued to impact confidence.
The decline was driven by falling demand from private consumers, with registrations down 13.2%. Business demand also fell, while fleet registrations remained stable at +0.3%. The supermini segment experiencing a substantial decline (23.4%), while ‘dual purpose’ car registrations grew 7.1%.
Year to date, the new car market remains in decline, down 2.9% on the first 10 months of 2018. The fall reflects continued uncertainty over diesel and clean air zones, stunted economic growth and uncertainty over Brexit.
