September's sales figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) showed that pure electric and plug-in hybrid cars are really beginning to catch on.
9,955 alternatively-fuelled vehicles (AFVs) were registered in September, an impressive increase of 56 per cent on September 2013.
AFVs now account for 2.3 per cent of the entire market, which may not sound like much, but this figure represents a 44 per cent annual increase.
10 per cent of market in five years’ time?
If sales continue to increase in this way, AFVs will make up over 10 per cent of the entire market within five years. Whether or not this is achieved will depend on infrastructure improvements and if car firms continue to produce desirable vehicles.
But as any of our breakdown insurance customers who have looked into buying an AFV can attest, choice is certainly not an issue. In 2011 there were just six plug-in cars on the market – now there are more than 20.
Nearly a third of the 9,955 AFVs registered in September were eligible for the government's £5,000 plug-in grant - please follow this link to find out more about the grant: https://www.gov.uk/plug-in-car-van-grants/overview.
14,274 cars have been registered under the scheme since 2011.
Among the big winners is Nissan, which sold 2,969 Leaf cars to date this year – a good deal more than it sold over the entirety of 2013, namely 1,812. The Japanese firm now has 68 per cent of the electric vehicle market.
Car makers that failed to invest sufficiently in AFVs over the last 10 years may be wishing they had, given these impressive figures.
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