The most common plug-in vehicle on UK roads is still the Mitsubishi Outlander, according the to the latest DVLA data.

There were 32,048 of the plug-in hybrid versions of the vehicle licensed at the end of 2017, with the pure electric Nissan Leaf of (19,624) the next most popular plug-in.

The BMW 330e (9,143) in third place pushed the BMW i3 and i3s into fourth (9,024), while the Mercedes-Benz C350e (8,867) was in fifth place.

At the end of 2017, there were a total of 126,857 cars and vans licensed in the UK that are, or have been, eligible for the Government’s plug-in grant schemes, according to analysis of DVLA data by the RAC Foundation.

This is 9% higher than the 116,534 on the road at the end of the previous quarter (Q3 2017) and 52% higher than the 83,224 on the road a year earlier (Q4 2016).

The five models which saw the largest percentage increases in numbers between Q3 and Q4 were:

Make and Model

 % change over quarter

Increase in number of vehicles over quarter

Mini Countryman PHEV

154.99%

575

BMW 530e

61.50%

722

Volkswagen Passat GTE

47.34%

516

Audi Q7 e-tron

34.62%

90

Hyundai IONIQ EV

27.62%

66

Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said: “These numbers show there has been solid, if not explosive, growth in the ultra-low emission car market, with some reports suggesting that public demand is outstripping the ability of the auto companies to supply enough of the latest models.

“Of the grant-eligible vehicles on the road the plug-in hybrids continue to outnumber the pure battery-electric cars, at the end of 2017 by three to two.

“Crucially, those drivers looking to visit the showrooms in the coming months, tempted by the new models on offer, will be asking whether the current level of Government grant will be maintained and for how long.”

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 Q4 2017 (the most recent date for which figures are available).

For example, the Audi Q7, BMW i8, Mercedes S500 Hybrid and Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid are no longer eligible for the grant because they have a recommended retail price over £60,000, which puts them outside the current scheme.

Rank

Make and model

Q4 2017

Q3 2017

Q2 2017

Q1 2017

1

Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV (all variants)

           32,048

       

 31,002

          

 29,408

         

27,677

2

Nissan Leaf

           19,624

         

18,922

           

17,352

         

16,501

3

BMW 330e

             9,143

           

7,402

             

6,039

           

4,873

4

BMW i3 and i3s (of which are the Range extender version)

9,024

(6,437)

 8,365

(6056)

 7,597

(5,464)

 6,798 (4,903)

5

Mercedes-Benz C350e

             8,867

           

8,634

             

7,724

           

6,855

6

Tesla Model S

             6,972

           

6,217

             

5,575

         5,172

7

Renault Zoe

             5,751

           

5,729

            5,432

         5,212

8

Volkswagen Golf GTE

             5,411

           

4,384

             

3,595

          

3,341

9

Volvo Xc90 T8 Twin Engine

             3,338

           

2,979

             

2,522

           

2,184

10

Nissan e-NV200 (all variants)

             2,639

           

2,598

             

2,324

           

2,150

11

Audi A3 e-tron

             2,402

           

2,348

             

2,084

           

1,961

12

Tesla Model X

             2,114

           

1,686

             

1,112

               

666

13

Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid

             2,087

           

2,005

             

1,889

           

1,785

14

BMW 530e

             1,896

           

1,174

                 

404

                 29

15

BMW i8

             1,763

           

1,719

             

1,711

           

1,641

16

Volkswagen Passat GTE

             1,606

           

1,090

                 

704

               

447

17

BMW 225xe

             1,458

           

1,157

                 

949

               

771

18

Vauxhall Ampera

             1,269

           

1,265

             

1,266

           

1,282

19

Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid

             1,074

               

946

                 

636

               

513

20

Mini Countryman PHEV

                 946

               

371

                 

128

                  -  

21

Renault Kangoo ZE

                 929

               

904

                 

876

               

864

22

Mercedes-Benz E350 e

                 901

               

820

                 

583

               

271

23

Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid (all variants)

                 785

               

759

                 

725

               

701

24

Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive

                 481

               

489

                 

488

               

425

25

Kia Soul EV

                 465

               

377

                 

328

               

288

26

Peugeot Ion

                 426

               

426

                 

421

               

418

27

Kia Optima Saloon PHEV

                 397

              

 339

                 

312

               

299

28

Audi Q7 e-tron

                 350

               

260

                 

181

                 79

29

Smart ForTwo Electric Drive (EQ)

                 324

               

260

                 

228

               

210

30

Hyundai IONIQ PHEV

                 314

               

188

                    -  

 

31

Hyundai IONIQ EV

                 305

               

239

                 

224

                  -  

32

Kia Niro PHEV

                 289

               

137

                    -  

 

33

Mitsubishi i-Miev

                 258

               

261

                 

257

               

257

34

Citroen C-Zero

                 232

               

233

                 

230

               

227

35

Volkswagen e-Golf

                 224

               

189

                 

147

               

137

36

Volkswagen e-up!

                 187

               

176

                 

171

               

167

37

Chevrolet Volt

                 120

               

120

                 

118

               

119

38

Mercedes-Benz S500 Hybrid

                 118

               

121

                 

121

               

121

39

Renault Fluence

                   72

                 

71

                   

73

                 75

40

Smart ForFour Electric Drive (EQ)

                   71

                 

27

                   

11

 

41

Citroen Berlingo EV

                   66

                 

61

                   

51

                 45

42

Toyota Mirai

                   44

                 

41

                   

32

                 30

43

Volvo S90 Twin Engine

                   28

                    1

                    -  

 

44

Ford Focus Electric

                   17

                 

19

                   

22

                 21

45

Mia (all variants)

                   14

                 

14

                   

14

                 13

46

Daimler Mercedes-Benz Vito E-Cell

                      7

                    9

                      9

                 11

47

LECV TX (Taxi)

                      1

     

48

BYD e6

                    -  

                  -  

                    -   

                  -  

=

BD Otomotiv eTraffic

                    -  

                  -  

                    -  

                  -  

=

BD Otomotiv eDucato

                    -  

                  -  

                    -  

                  -  

=

Peugeot ePartner

                    -  

                  -  

                    -  

                  -  

=

Smith Electric Smith Edison

                    -  

                  -  

                    -  

                  -  

=

Mahindra e20

                    -  

                  -  

                    -  

                  -  

=

LDV EV80 (all variants)

 

                  -  

   
 

Total

         126,857

       

116,534

    

104,073

         

94,636

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.