- EV sales are up 34% on the previous year
- The UK could be on track to achieve its 2030 electric vehicle targets
- Sales are being fuelled by the top European manufacturers
The UK could be on track to have battery electric vehicles (BEV) account for at least 28% of its auto market by 2030 as sales reached an all time high in January 2025.
New AutoMotive, a transport research organisation, found that more than one in five new car buyers are choosing to purchase an EV, up 34% compared to last year, when just 15% of new cars bought were electric.
Dan Caeser, CEO of Electric Vehicles UK, said that 2025 could be another record setter for Europe’s biggest EV market and claimed that the sector is in line to hit the government mandated target this year.
“At this growth rate, the UK would be on track for a greater than 25% BEV (battery electric market) market share,” Caeser explained.
“But, as in 2024, with the best sales likely at year end due to the ZEV mechanism, and more affordable EVs launching, we believe the 28% target is achievable.”
Fuelled largely by European manufacturers, there was a notable spike in the number of electric Minis, which jumped from just over 200 in January 2024 to more than a thousand a year later.
While the EV sales target is 28%, New AutoMotive’s DVLA registration data analysis suggested that compliance can be reached at 23% of EV sales.
Ben Nelmes, CEO of New AutoMotive said this discrepancy is due to the policy’s flexibility, which allows businesses to “partially offset their EV sales targets with increased sales of hybrids and cleaner petrol and diesel vehicles”.
The analysis from New AutoMotive indicated that the current EV targets are encouraging manufacturers to expand their EV offerings for consumers. However, Nelmes cautions that changes to the targets could undermine the UK’s position as a European leader on EVs.
“We usually see slower sales at the start of the year, so these numbers are a nice surprise.
“Even with all uncertainty around the government’s review of EV targets, EV sales are still going up, turning the UK into Europe’s leading EV market.
Nelmes urged government ministers to “ keep up the pace” and not make any policy changes that could “undermine the billions of investment in charging points and battery factories, which are set to create thousands of jobs in the UK”.
