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.
Bryn - 16/04/2018 12:54
Such a shame that the super inefficient Outlander PHEV is included in this list. The electric range is so very poor that the two I know of are never used in electric mode, they are tax dodge with poor performance petrol sub. :(