The UK is now “tantalisingly close” to hitting the magic milestone of half a million zero-emission battery electric cars on the UK’s roads.

The RAC said we should hit the 500,000 EV landmark in a matter of months

New Government vehicle licensing data out this week shows there are now an estimated 456,000 battery-electric cars on the UK’s roads, and the RAC said we should hit the 500,000 EV landmark in a matter of months. 

EV spokesperson Simon Williams said: “The sight of more cars sporting a green flash on their number plates is a reminder of the fantastic progress that is being made in getting more drivers to go electric.” 

But he outlined that there’s still a lot of work to do when you consider that battery-electric cars still only represent 1.2% of all those on the roads.  

 “As we begin to overcome the chip shortage that has so badly affected new car production, the focus for government and industry has to be on encouraging as many people to confidently move away from their current petrol- and diesel-powered vehicles as possible. Key to this happening is a greater supply of pure EVs in the first place, which will help reduce prices, together with improvements to public charging networks. We’re proud to be playing our part by offering an electric vehicle leasing scheme, together with home charger installation and a domestic electricity tariff offering an excellent value overnight rate for charging at home.”

Williams added: “The total number of cars capable of covering at least some zero-emission miles – such as plug-in hybrids which now number 348,000 – also looks like it will reach a landmark as it will soon top the one million mark.” 

The AA also welcomed the rise in EVs and said that the trend will continue as we head towards the 2030 ban on new combustion car sales, but how fast depends on various issues. 

Jack Cousens, head of roads policy, commented: “With the average age of cars on the road getting older to almost nine years old, it is clear that both the pandemic and cost of living crisis are biting as people cannot afford to switch, but need the flexibility car ownership brings. 

“In order to boost the uptake of EVs and help the UK’s valuable automotive industry, the Government should consider scraping the VAT on the sale of new electric cars and reducing VAT for on-street charging,” he continued. “This would help convince drivers in a position to switch now that electrification is the road to travel, while offering drivers in years to come more opportunities to join the electric revolution.”