In January 2022, there were 14,433 battery electric vehicle (BEVs) sold, a 130.6% year-on-year increase.
The new figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) show in January 2022 12.5% of all new car sales were BEV, compared to 6.9% in January 2021.
In a continued trend, there were more sales of BEVs than diesel in the month, with 6,008 diesel cars sold. It marks the seventh month in a row where this has occurred.
As a whole, the sale of new cars rose 27.5% compared to January 2021, when lockdown restrictions kept showrooms shut. BEVs, plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) and hybrid cars accounted for 71.5% of this uplift.
The SMMT said the rapid pace of change is underlined by the latest market outlook, which forecasts that registrations of BEVs and PHEVs are to grow by 61% and 42% respectively this year, meaning by the end of 2022 almost one in four new cars will come with a plug.
It follows New AutoMotive forecasting that there will be 300,000 new BEVs sold in the UK this year, which would be around double those sold last year and would be equivalent to around 15% of the market.
“Once again it is electrified vehicles that are driving the growth, despite the ongoing headwinds of chip shortages, rising inflation and the cost-of-living squeeze,” Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said.
Data on EV sales in January has also been released by New AutoMotive, which has the number of BEV sales at a total of 13,000, with a market share of 13%.
New AutoMotive found that Jaguar is leading the way on transitioning to electric, with EVs making up 48% of their sales, up from 20% 12 months ago.
However, Ben Nelmes, head of policy and research at New AutoMotive, said it is “disappointing” to see a drop in sales between December 2021 and January 2022, although he added that January’s figures “represent long-term growth in the number of people buying electric cars”.
According to the SMMT, there were 27,705 BEVs sold in December, equivalent to a 25.5% market share. This was a new record for a non-locked down trading month.
Last year saw continued strong sales for BEVs, with 2021 as a whole seeing a 76.3% year-on-year rise in sales. In total, BEVs represented 11.6% of all new car sales in 2020, compared to 6.6% for 2020.
