Growth in battery electric vehicle (BEVs) take-up continues to hit new records, despite the overall new car market hitting its lowest level since 1998.

A total of 39,315 BEVs left dealerships last month; up 78.7% on last year and marking the highest volume of BEV registrations ever recorded in a single month

Latest data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) reveals a total of 39,315 BEVs left dealerships last month; up 78.7% on last year and taking a 16.1% market share.

It’s the highest volume of BEV registrations ever recorded in a single month – significantly, more BEVs were registered in March 2022 than during the whole of 2019, while the Tesla Model Y and Model 3 topped the best-selling model chart across the whole market.

Plug-in hybrid (PHEV) registrations declined by 7.5% to 16,037 units, but hybrids (HEVs) grew 28.4% to 27,737 units. As a result, electrified vehicles comprised more than a third (34.1%) of all new car registrations.

Across the whole new car market, a total of 243,479 units were registered in March; down 14.3% year-on-year in what is normally the industry’s busiest month as a result of the supply chain issues, including the semiconductor shortage.

Commenting on the figures, chief executive Mike Hawes urged fleets and drivers to make the most of the current Plug-in Car Grants available until end of March 2023.

He continued: “Placing orders now will be beneficial for those looking to take advantage of incentives and lower running costs for electric vehicles, especially as the Ukraine crisis could affect supply still further. With increasing household and business costs, government must do all it can to support consumers so that the growth of electric vehicles can be sustained and the UK’s ambitious net zero timetable delivered.”

Reacting to the data, Meryem Brassington, electrification propositions lead at Lex Autolease, said: “The latest figures from the SMMT show that the growth in EV take-up continues apace – now accounting for 16% of all new motors bought in the UK. The continued adoption is essential to provide a good supply of used EVs in the future to ensure the transition to electric is accessible for everyone.

“The Government’s plans for a tenfold increase in electric car charge points by the end of the decade will go a long way to removing charging infrastructure as a perceived and real barrier to adoption of EVs. Delivery on this is critical especially for those drivers and businesses in rural areas where access to charging remains a major barrier to electric vehicle uptake.”

Felicity Latcham of OC&C Strategy Consultants also greeted the SMMT figures and said they round off an encouraging start to the year for the decarbonisation of the UK’s motor industry.

They also back up data from OC&C’s annual Global Automotive Disruption Speedometer, which found that UK consumers are demonstrating an increasingly positive attitude towards EVs.

Latcham said: “With over twice as many newly registered battery powered vehicles compared to this time last year, it is clear that demand for EVs is continuing to surge, reflecting sentiment in OC&C’s annual Speedometer report which revealed that in 2021 57% of UK drivers were considering going fully electric for their next car purchase. The healthy figures also point to manufacturers prioritising limited chip supplies on higher margin and higher priority models – many of which are EVs.”

But she said that increased EV uptake places an even greater emphasis on the UK’s EV charging infrastructure – and despite the Government pledging a further £1.6bn and the installation of 300,000 charge points by 2030 in its EV Infrastructure Strategy, questions remain as to whether this number is sufficient and how the target will be reached.

“Zap Map data shows 30,000 charge points currently installed in the UK, which have increased annually by 35% across five years. While that makes for positive reading, industry estimates suggest at least 400,000, as opposed to 300,000 points, are required by 2030, meaning approximately 40,000 points a year will need to be installed if the UK is to have a future-proof EV-ready fleet by the next decade.”