The Mitsubishi Outlander plug-in hybrid has held its lead over the pure battery-electric Nissan Leaf to remain the most common ultra-low carbon car on the UK's roads.

Analysis by the RAC Foundation of the latest DVLA data shows there were 31,002 Outlanders on the road at the end of September 2017, up 1,594 on the previous quarter. This compares with the 18,922 Leafs, up 1,570 on the previous quarter.

Third came the Mercedes-Benz C350 e (8,634), followed by the BMW i3 (8,365) and the BMW 330e (7,402).

Overall, at the end of September 2017, there were 116,525 licensed vehicles on the roads that are or have been eligible for the government’s plug-in car and van grant schemes. This total is 54% higher than the 75,797 vehicles on the roads at the end of September 2016.

Under the government’s plug-in grant schemes, car buyers can get a grant of up to £4,500, depending on the model, and van buyers a grant of up to £8,000.

Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said: “These figures show that despite the slump in sales of new diesel cars we are still waiting for the moment when the ultra-green vehicle market really takes off.

“Electric vehicles are becoming more common they are yet to become an everyday sight. While the 50% year-on-year growth is encouraging the low overall total shows why the government commitment to incentives made in the Budget is so important.”

The latest SMMT data shows that in the year to the end of November new car registrations of 2,388,144 was down by 5% or 126,620 vehicles on the same period in 2016.

Diesel registrations have fallen sharply – down 16% year-on-year – and have only partially been offset by rises in registrations of petrol and alternatively fuelled vehicles.

Vehicles that are, or have been, eligible for the government’s plug-in car and van grant schemes and which were on the road in the UK at the end of Q3 2017.

Rank

Make and Model

Q3 2017

Q2 2017

Q1 2017

Q4 2016

Q3 2016

1

Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV

(all variants)*

31,002

29,408

27,677

25,447

23,751

2

Nissan Leaf

18,922

17,352

16,501

14,718

14,063

3

Mercedes-Benz C350 e

8,634

7,724

6,855

5,890

4,756

4

BMW i3

(of which are Range Extender version)

8,365

(6056)

7,597 (5,464)

6,798 (4,903)

5,858 (4,198)

5,217 (3,700)

5

BMW 330e

7,402

6,039

4,873

3,447

2,552

6

Tesla Model S

6,217

5,575

5,172

4,454

3,907

7

Renault Zoe

5,729

5,432

5,212

4,974

4,744

8

Volkswagen Golf GTE

4,384

3,595

3,341

3,231

3,059

9

Volvo Xc90 T8 Twin Engine

2,979

2,522

2,184

1,610

1,159

10

Nissan e-NV200 (all variants)*

2,598

2,324

2,150

1,886

1,710

11

Audi A3 e-tron

2,348

2,084

1,961

1,806

1,699

12

Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid

2,005

1,889

1,785

1,671

1,667

13

BMW i8

1,719

1,711

1,641

1,549

1,446

14

Tesla Model X

1,686

1,112

666

42

  

15

Vauxhall Ampera

1,265

1,266

1,282

1,278

1,258

16

BMW 530e

1,174

404

29

-

  

17

BMW 225xe

1,157

949

771

460

290

18

Volkswagen Passat GTE

1,090

704

447

180

72

19

Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid

938

636

513

515

498

20

Renault Kangoo ZE

904

876

864

838

805

21

Mercedes-Benz E350 e

820

583

271

22

-

22

Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid

(all variants)

759

725

701

610

484

23

Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive

489

488

425

375

333

24

Peugeot Ion

426

421

418

418

413

25

Kia Soul EV

377

328

288

245

244

26

Mini Countryman PHEV

371

128

-

-

  

27

Kia Optima Saloon PHEV

339

312

299

231

207

28

Mitsubishi i-Miev

261

257

257

261

255

29

Smart ForTwo Electric Drive

260

228

210

209

213

29

Audi Q7 e-tron

260

181

79

62

68

31

Hyundai IONIQ EV

239

224

-

-

-

32

Citroen C-Zero

233

230

227

227

220

33

Volkswagen e-Golf

189

147

137

135

129

34

Hyundai IONIQ PHEV

188

-

      

35

Volkswagen e-up!

176

171

167

164

161

36

Kia Niro PHEV

137

-

      

37

Mercedes-Benz S500 Hybrid

121

121

121

124

124

38

Chevrolet Volt

120

118

119

119

121

39

Renault Fluence

71

73

75

75

78

40

Citroen Berlingo EV

61

51

45

33

26

41

Toyota Mirai

41

32

30

12

12

42

Smart ForFour Electric Drive

27

11

      

43

Ford Focus Electric

19

22

21

22

22

44

Mia

14

14

13

13

14

45

Daimler Mercedes-Benz Vito E-Cell

9

9

11

13

20

46

BYD e6

-

-

-

-

-

=

BD Otomotiv eTraffic

-

-

-

-

-

=

BD Otomotiv eDucato

-

-

-

-

-

=

Peugeot ePartner

-

-

-

-

-

=

Smith Electric Smith Edison

-

-

-

-

-

=

Mahindra e20

-

-

-

-

-

=

LDV EV80

-

        
             
 

Total

116,525

104,073

94,636

83,224

75,797

Note: Some of the vehicles above might have been bought without the grant. Some might be licensed to manufacturers and dealers rather than customers. The total number licensed is below the total number of grants claimed because of the lag between an order being placed and the car being delivered.

*The Mitsubishi Outlanders on the road are predominantly SUVs however a number will be commercial van versions. Most Nissan e-NV200s will be commercial vans though a number will be seven-seaters.

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