New data compiled by Leasing Options has highlighted that the North West and South West regions of the UK have adopted electric vehicles faster than any other regions in 2020.
The report using data from the DVLA shows that the North West region has seen an impressive increase of 293% and South West has also seen its EV adoption skyrocket by 237% compared to 2019.
Overall, 2020 has seen the UK switching to EVs more than ever. In fact, over twice the number of people (181,090) registered an electric vehicle than they did in 2019 (80,578). Not only that but between 2018 and 2019 the uptake of electric vehicles had only increased by 26%, whereas by the end of 2020 that figure stood at 125%.
The South West, which saw the slowest uptake in 2019, has shot to the top of the list by registering the 3rd highest number of any region in 2020, and now has the second most EVs in the UK in total. In fact, they have the highest number of EVs per 100,000 people in the whole of the country.
Currently, the region with the largest number of EVs registered is the South East, which has seen 41,325 electric vehicle registered in 2020, a massive 144% increase from 2019.
The lowest percentage uptake has been in London where there has been only a 44% increase compared to 2019 with over 13,000 EVs registered in 2020 .
As WhichEV reported, these numbers should not be a surprise as analysis by Rivervale Leasing has shown that battery electric vehicles are expected to overtake internal combustion engines by 2024.
| Region | 2018 | 2019 | 2018-2019 % Increase | 2020 | 2019-2020 % Increase |
| North West | 2,567 | 3,772 | 47% | 14,814 | 293% |
| South West | 8,585 | 8,821 | 3% | 29,762 | 237% |
| Wales | 938 | 1,241 | 32% | 3,616 | 191% |
| South East | 14,580 | 16,934 | 16% | 41,325 | 144% |
| North East | 679 | 919 | 35% | 2,037 | 122% |
| Yorkshire | 4,977 | 7,819 | 57% | 17,122 | 119% |
| Scotland | 3,529 | 5,066 | 44% | 10,990 | 117% |
| East | 8,474 | 9,256 | 9% | 18,232 | 97% |
| East Midlands | 3,155 | 3,701 | 17% | 7,181 | 94% |
| West Midlands | 9,307 | 12,530 | 35% | 20,088 | 60% |
| London | 6,367 | 9,686 | 52% | 13,956 | 44% |
| UK | 63,879 | 80,578 | 26% | 181,090 | 125% |