Every fourth new car in Britain is electric: sales hit records

The United Kingdom is setting a new record for electric vehicle sales: in June nearly 25% of all new cars were battery-powered. According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), the share of electric car registrations (BEV) reached 24.8% — this is 39.1% more than a year earlier. In numbers, this is 47,354 electric cars in a month.

The total volume of new car sales in June amounted to 191,316 units — the best figure since 2019. However, despite the growth, the industry is falling short of the electric vehicle targets set by the government. Even active discounts and special offers from automakers still do not provide the necessary pace of transition to environmentally friendly transport.

Mike Hawes, head of SMMT, notes that the current growth in BEV sales largely relies on the efforts of dealers and manufacturers, but without state support, this trend could slow down. According to the association's estimates, if the authorities eliminate VAT on the purchase of electric vehicles and charging, as well as revise environmental fees, an additional 267,000 BEVs will appear on the roads in three years. This will reduce annual CO2 emissions by 6 million tons — a significant contribution to the environment.

Interestingly, while electric cars are gaining popularity, sales of gasoline cars have decreased by 4.2%, although they still lead — in June Britons bought 88,029 such cars. Demand for plug-in hybrids (PHEV) also increased: their share amounted to 11.2%, and the growth in sales — 28.8%.