Upwards of 50% more electric cars sold this year compared to last

Reacting to new car registration figures released this morning by the SMMT, RAC director of EVs Sarah Winward-Kotecha said:

RAC director of electric vehicles Sarah Winward-Kotecha said: “There’s getting away from the fact November was a disappointing month for new car sales, with the ongoing chip shortage and its impact on delivery times putting off some drivers from making purchases.

“But new registrations of electric vehicles continue to buck the overall trend with more than a quarter of a million battery and plug-in hybrid vehicles coming onto the road so far this year. It seems certain that 2021 will go down on record as a stellar year for the electric car revolution, with upwards of 50% more sold compared to the whole of 2020.

“With such clear demand among fleets and private drivers for new EVs, we’ll sadly never know just how many more might have been registered last month had it not been for the problems manufacturers are encountering with sourcing semiconductors. The new registration figures once again emphasise the importance of a fit-for-purpose public charging network that grows in line with the rise in EVs so that mid-trip charging is never a problem. Next year we’ll almost certainly surpass one million electric cars on the roads which will further heighten the need for fast and efficient charging away from home.”

The RAC provides a comprehensive range of products and services to make acquiring and running an electric car easy and affordable. We also track the UK's transition to electric vehicles on our Road to Electric webpage.