Sales of pure-electric cars increase by over 40% compared to April 2021



Today sees the release of the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), for new car registrations in April. The data shows that, last month, sales of new battery-electric cars (BEV) increased by more than 40% compared with April 2021.

In contrast, sales of internal combustion engine vehicles were down, with diesel and petrol car sales decreasing by 50% and 23% respectively on April last year. Also notable was the decrease in sales of new plug-in hybrid electric cars (PHEV), which decreased by 36% compared with April 2021.

What’s more, the latest EV charging figures from Zap-Map show that over 1,210 new charging devices were installed in April, a record within a month. It also means that, since the end of April 2021, the number of ultra-rapid charging devices in the UK has increased by 74% .

See the Zap-Map graph below for the number of new plug-in registrations by month over the the past 13 months.

Number of new plug-in car registrations by month

april new plug-in vehicle registrations

April 2022 saw a total of 19,348 new plug-in vehicle registrations, comprising 12,899 BEVs and 6,449 PHEVs.This takes the cumulative total of plug-in vehicles on UK roads – as of the end of February – to over 858,000. That total comprises around 470,000 BEVs and 385,000 PHEVs.

So far in 2022, over 77,000 BEVs have been sold in the UK, alongside more than 36,000 PHEVs.

Annual market share – plug-in market share of new car registrations (2016 to date)

annual plug-in vehicle market share as of february 2022

Last month’s sales saw plug-in vehicles take 16.2% of market share, with BEVs accounting for 10.8% of overall vehicle sales in April.

This means that plug-in vehicles currently represent 21.1% of market share in 2022, with BEVs at 14.4% and PHEVs at 6.7%.

While no battery-electric car entered the top ten bestsellers last month, important steps forward are being made in terms of the UK’s EV charging infrastructure. The latest EV charging statistics from Zap-Map show that over 1,210 new charging devices were installed in April, a record within a month. This brings the UK total to more than 31,500 devices, across 19,707 locations. It also represents a 35% increase in charging devices over the past year.

electric vehicle charging statistics from april 2022

The number of and growth in UK charging devices as of April 2022.

Moreover, last month saw 259 new rapid and ultra-rapid charging devices installed, bringing the total to 5,750. This includes an increase of 74% in the number of ultra-rapid devices – capable of adding from 70 miles in as little as 15 minutes – since April 2021.

“The rapid and ultra-rapid charger roll-out continues at pace. These charging devices are an important part of the infrastructure for the transport transition, as they make longer journeys possible by providing a way for people to charge en route,” said Melanie Shufflebotham, Co-founder & COO at Zap-Map.

“Ever growing numbers of drivers are switching to electric as they realise not only the environmental but the financial benefits, giving the soaring costs of petrol. This makes it ever more important that people can easily find reliable charging to power their vehicles, so it’s great to see the industry respond to demand.”

Looking ahead, Zap-Pay partner Osprey is planning to add 250 rapid chargers across 100 new charging destinations, while Volkswagen Group and bp have also launched a strategic partnership to roll out ultra-rapid charging across the UK and Europe.






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