Electric car sales accelerate to new peak

A record number of drivers are choosing to buy ultra-low emission vehicles (ULEVs) in Britain. New figures from the Department for Transport (DfT) reveal more than 9,600 ULEVs were registered […]

A record number of drivers are choosing to buy ultra-low emission vehicles (ULEVs) in Britain.

New figures from the Department for Transport (DfT) reveal more than 9,600 ULEVs were registered in the UK from April to June this year.

That’s an increase of 49% during the same period in 2015 and 253% on two years earlier.

During the year to the end of June 2016, ULEVs represented 1.1% of all new registrations compared to 0.8% last year.

It follows the extension of the plug-in car and van grant scheme, allowing more than 100,000 additional drivers to benefit until at least 2018.

New registrations in the last quarter included 9,220 cars and 274 vans of models that were eligible for the grants, 51% up on the same period last year.

The government plans to spend £600 million in this parliament to support the rise in ULEVs in a bid to achieve its aim for almost all cars and vans to be zero emission by 2050.

Roads Minister John Hayes said: “I am delighted to see more drivers than ever are choosing electric vehicles. As awareness of the benefits grows, even more motorists will buy these cleaner, greener vehicles, which are cheaper to run.

“These statistics show our investment is making a real difference in encouraging people to choose electric and help protect the environment.”

MPs recently said the government needs to be more ambitious and develop a clear strategy to boost the uptake of low carbon vehicles.

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