January has been another great month for battery electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles as new registration have steadily increased.
According to the data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, BEV registrations grew by 54.4% compared to last January, which corresponds to a 6.9% of the overall market share. Plug-in Hybrids have also seen an important increase of 28% in registration last month which means that PHEVs now have a 6.8% overall market share compared to only 3.2% from 2020.
However, hybrids had a tough month as their new registrations have fallen 23.9% compared to January 2020. Their situation though is not nearly as bad as diesel and petrol vehicles as they fell 62.1% and 50.6% respectively.
Overall, the UK new car market fell 39.5% in January with 59,030 fewer registrations compared to the same month last year according to SMMT. Just 90,249 cars were registered as showrooms across the country remained shut, leading to the worst start to the year since 1970.
The tough moment for the auto industry is not going to end any time soon, according to Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive.
“Following a £20.4 billion loss of revenue last year, the auto industry faces a difficult start to 2021,” he said. “The necessary lockdown will challenge society, the economy and our industry’s ability to move quickly towards our ambitious environmental goals.”
While internal combustion engines are struggling, EVs are keeping the positive trend initiated last year and as we have reported soon the sale of new electric vehicles could overtake petrol and diesel sales.
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