EVs grow as diesel slumps in UK August car sales

August has been another fantastic month for greener options as battery electric vehicles and hybrid cars have proven to be highly popular.

According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) demand for the latest battery (BEV), hybrid (HEV) and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) electric vehicles surged up 32.2%, 45.7% and 72.1% respectively.

This month has highlighted once again the struggle of internal combustion engines as both diesel and petrol took a big hit. Demand for Diesel has drastically fallen by -64.5% reducing the overall market share to 7.5% from a solid 16.4% in 2020. Meanwhile, petrol has also seen a fall of -40.4%, which has reduced the overall market share to 43.3%.

As ‘traditional vehicles’ are struggling, greener solutions are taking over the market. BEVs now hold a 10.9% overall market share. PHEVs have surged to 7.4% from last year’s 3.4% and HEVs have grown to an 11.8% share.

Ben Nelmes, Head of Policy and Research at New AutoMotive pointed out that the all-electric revolution is well on its way.

“It’s great to see electric car sales going from strength to strength,” he said. “August’s figures are yet more evidence that the transition to electric vehicles is gathering pace. The UK will benefit if the government acts now to ensure that the charging infrastructure is rolled out rapidly and that people are equipped with the skills they need to get ahead of the curve.”

So far this year, UK new car registrations remain up 20.3%, to 1,101,302 registrations, an increase of 185,687 units, with BEVs and PHEVs at 8.4% and 6.6% market share respectively. However, this performance is measured against the Covid-hit 2020 market, when showrooms were closed for much of the year. Total registrations in 2021 are -25.3% below the 10-year average for the period January.