RAC analysis shows UK just months away from hitting 500,000 battery electric vehicles milestone

With RAC data analysis showing there are now an estimated 456,000 battery-electric cars on the UK’s roads, following the publication of new government data today, RAC EV spokesperson Simon Williams said:

“Our analysis shows we’re now tantalisingly close to hitting the magic milestone of half a million zero-emission battery electric cars on the UK’s roads, something we expect to see reached in a matter of months.

“The sight of more cars sporting a green flash on their number plates is a reminder of the fantastic progress that is being made in getting more drivers to go electric, but there’s still a lot of work to do when you consider that battery-electric cars still only represent 1.2% of all those on the roads.

“As we begin to overcome the chip shortage that has so badly affected new car production, the focus for government and industry has to be on encouraging as many people to confidently move away from their current petrol and diesel powered vehicles as possible. Key to this happening is a greater supply of pure EVs in the first place, which will help reduce prices, together with improvements to public charging networks. We’re proud to be playing our part by offering an electric vehicle leasing scheme, together with home charger installation and a domestic electricity tariff offering an excellent value overnight rate for charging at home.”

“The total number of cars capable of covering at least some zero-emission miles – such as plug-in hybrids which now number 348,000 – also looks like it will reach a landmark as it will soon top the 1m-mark.”