EV numbers will rise to 200,000 by the end of 2018, says Chargemaster

Chargemaster estimates there will be 200,000 plug-in cars on UK roads by the end of next year, up from the current figure of 120,000.

The prediction follows a 29.9% drop in diesel car registrations in the UK shrank in October, compared to the same month in 2016. It is the seventh consecutive monthly fall for diesel registrations. In contrast, the new plug-in car market grew by 47.5%.

David Martell, CEO of Chargemaster, said: “We will probably end this year with 45,000 new plug-in cars having been registered, and we expect to see around 70,000 registered in 2018. By the end of the year, we estimate that there will be 200,000 electric cars on UK roads, rising to 500,000 by the end of 2020 and to one million by the end of 2022.

“Recent consumer research shows that the majority of people have already considered switching to an electric car, and the speed of adoption that we will see over the next five to 10 years could surprise many consumers, as well as a few industry pundits.”

New car registrations from the SMMT show that plug-in cars recorded the strongest year-on-year growth of any sector in the market, with plug-in hybrid registrations rising by 46.9% compared to October 2016 and pure electric cars showing the highest growth of all types of car, with registrations increasing by 70.6%.