Nissan LEAF, Outlander PHEV Top UK Plug-in Sales in 2014

The market for plug-in electric vehicles in the UK is growing rapidly, with the Nissan LEAF topping the sales lists with 6,838 cars licensed at the end of 2014.

According to analysis of DVLA data by the RAC Foundation, the Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-in Hybrid is the second most common model with 5,273 vehicles licensed, while the BMW i3 is at third place with 1,534 electric cars licensed at the end of last year.

Professor Stephen Glaister, director of the RAC Foundation, said: “After a slower start than ministers hoped for sales of the greenest cars are accelerating fast, but it is illuminating to see which manufacturers are benefitting. What the numbers don’t reveal is the profitability of ultra-green cars for manufacturers or how hard each firm is pushing their products. But overall the market is growing rapidly. The latest industry figures show one in 86 cars sold in the UK in the first quarter of 2015 was a plug-in vehicle of some kind.”
The chart below shows how the licensed number of cars and vans available under the grant schemes has increased over time and what the breakdown is between all-electric cars and plug-in hybrids.
The table below is the full list of the cars and vans currently eligible for the Plug-in Car Grant (worth up to £5,000 per vehicle) and the Plug-in Van Grant (worth up to £8,000 per vehicle). Please note that some or all of those vehicles which show zero in the licensed column are likely to have come to market after Q4 2014.