Electric car statistics – EV market insights 2023

Our guide to the latest electric car market statistics is a resource for automotive journalists, sellers, manufacturers and consumers.

We will cover key statistics on the UK’s drive towards electrification, the latest EV sales figures and the bestselling EV manufacturers. This guide also includes commentary on the current state of the EV market with recent and comparative data from previous years.

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The state of the EV market

In 2022, 14% of all cars bought globally were battery electric vehicles (BEVs), marking an exponential growth from 2017 when just 1.4% of all cars sold were electric. Based on projections from the International Energy Agency (IEA), EV’s global market share is set to increase to 18% in 2023.

When it comes to electrification, the UK is slightly ahead of the curve globally; electric cars claimed a 16.6% UK market share in 2022. However, this figure falls short of the world’s largest EV market in China - where EVs secured a 25% market share in 2022.

Source: SMMT, International Energy Agency (IEA)

Key EV statistics

According to recent SMMT data, as of April 2023, there were 760,455 BEVs and 490,126 plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) on UK roads.
Since the end of 2021, BEV and PHEV numbers have increased by 363,958 and 141,774 respectively.
Compared with 2022’s year-end figures, EV and PHEV numbers have already grown by 14.5% and 9% respectively.
The UK’s electrification boom is showing no signs of losing momentum. According to projections by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), almost 500,000 new hybrid and fully electric vehicles will hit UK roads in 2023.
In March 2023 alone, there were a total of 76,233 BEVs 65,861 hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and 31,765 PHEVs registered in the UK.
Market share for BEVs increased by 0.1%, HEVs by 0.5% - and PHEVs by 0.4% compared to March 2022.

Source: SMMT

What is driving electrification in the UK?

The UK’s 2030 ICE ban (which will end new petrol and diesel car sales) is inching ever closer – and is expected to further impact the market share of traditionally-fuelled vehicles over the coming years, clearing the way for EVs.

The race to expand charging infrastructure to meet increasing demand from EV drivers is underway. Recent data from Zap-Map shows that as the end of April 2023, there were 42,566 EV charge points in the UK (an increase of 37% from April 2022).

Source: gov.uk, Zap-Map

Better charge point availability, electric range and falling used prices

Improved changepoint availability – and improved electric range for new EVs should go some way towards quelling range anxiety.
According to data from SMMT’s annual Test Day, the average electric car battery life had tripled – from just 74 miles in 2011 to 257 miles in 2022.
The choice of plug-in car models available to UK consumers also grew from just 9 in 2011 to more than 140 in 2022.
According to data from cap hpi on electric car depreciation, as of March 2023, the value of many used EVs has fallen significantly.
Falling used prices will help to make EVs more affordable, leading more consumers to consider whether to buy an electric car in 2023.
Models with the highest rates of electric car deprecation included the Tesla Model S, Jaguar I-Pace and Renault Zoe, which in March 2023 had an average value loss of 30.7%, 28.7% and 28.5% respectively compared with the previous year.

Source: SMMT, cap hpi

UK new electric car sales statistics

A total of 1.61 million new cars were registered in the UK in 2022 across all powertrain types. This figure represents a 2% decline from the previous year. However, BEVs have bucked this trend.
In 2022, 267,203 new BEVs were registered in the UK (an increase of 39.9% from 2021 when 190,727 were registered).
Year-on-year BEV sales figures were consistently stronger throughout 2022.
Tesla produced the two bestselling EVs in 2022 – the Model Y and the Model 3, which sold 35,551 and 19,071 units respectively.

Year	Number of new electric car sales
2022	267,203
2021	190,727
2020	108,205
2019	37,850
2018	15,510

Source: SMMT

Bestselling electric vehicles in 2022

Tesla continued to preside over the EV market in 2022. Their Model Y was the bestselling EV in the UK, with 35,551 units sold, whilst last year’s leader, the Tesla Model 3 placed second with a total of 19,701 units sold.

In 2022, Tesla’s Model Y was the third bestselling car in the UK across all powertrain types – and was outsold only by the Vauxhall Corsa and Nissan Qashqai (which sold 35,910 and 42,704 units respectively).
Strong sales for Tesla’s Model Y and Model 3 appear to have increased consumer confidence in EVs. According to SMMT data, BEV sales grew by 40.1% in 2022 - and BEVs claimed a 16.1% market share (up from 11.6% in 2022).
The Kia e-Niro was the third bestselling EV in 2022 (down from second in 2021) with 11,197 units sold (compared to 12,271 the previous year).

Bestselling electric vehicles in 2022

In 2022, Tesla’s Model Y was the third bestselling car in the UK across all powertrain types – and was outsold only by the Vauxhall Corsa and Nissan Qashqai (which sold 35,910 and 42,704 units respectively).
Strong sales for Tesla’s Model Y and Model 3 appear to have increased consumer confidence in EVs. According to SMMT data, BEV sales grew by 40.1% in 2022 - and BEVs claimed a 16.1% market share (up from 11.6% in 2022).
The Kia e-Niro was the third bestselling EV in 2022 (down from second in 2021) with 11,197 units sold (compared to 12,271 the previous year).

Car	Number of sales 2022
Tesla Model Y	35,551
Tesla Model 3	19,071
Kia e-Niro	11,197
VW ID.3	9,832
Nissan Leaf	9,178
MINI Electric	7,425
Polestar 2	7,345
MG 5	7,030
BMW i4	6,699
Audi Q4 e-tron	6,594

Source: SMMT

Early indicators for bestselling EVs in the UK for 2023

In March 2023, 46,626 BEV sales were recorded in the UK – a record monthly high, which represents a 18.6% year-on-year growth.
In the same month, Tesla’s Model Y recorded the highest UK sales across all powertrain types, with 8,123 units registered.
This represents a 26% year-on-year increase for the Model Y. (However, this figure falls short of its all-time record of 10,664 sales, which was set in December 2022).
However, in March 2023, Model 3 sales fell short of those recorded in March 2022 to such a degree that Tesla’s combined sales were down from the previous year.

Source: SMMT

Tesla and MG on track to lead the EV market in 2023

Tesla’s Model Y was the bestselling EV on the UK market in Q1 of 2023 (from January to March).
The MG4 was the second bestselling EV over this period, with 5,200 units sold.
The MG4 is MG’s first all-electric hatchback and has enjoyed favourable reviews and strong sales since its launch in September 2022.

Source: Cleantechnica, SMMT

Electric car registrations by month (2021-2022)

December 2022 saw a record number of BEV sales (42,284), significantly surpassing September 2021’s record of 32,721 sales. (However, 2022’s record was eclipsed in March 2023, when an unprecedented 46,626 BEV sales were recorded.)

Month	Number of new electric car registrations
Jan-21	6,260
Feb-21	3,516
Mar-21	22,003
Apr-21	9,152
May-21	13,120
Jun-21	19,842
Jul-21	11,139
Aug-21	7,388
Sep-21	32,721
Oct-21	16,155
Nov-21	21,726
Dec-21	27,705
Jan-22	14,433
Feb-22	10,417
Mar-22	39,315
Apr-22	12,899
May-22	15,448
Jun-22	22,737
Jul-22	12,243
Aug-22	10,006
Sep-22	38,116
Oct-22	19,933
Nov-22	29,372
Dec-22	42,284

New car registrations graph

Source: SMMT

How many electric cars were registered in 2022?

In 2022, there were a total of 267,203 new EV registrations in the UK – the highest annual figure to date.

Source: SMMT

How many electric cars were registered in 2021?

In 2021, a total of 190,727 new electric cars were registered in the UK.

Source: SMMT

How many EVs are there in the UK?

At the end of April 2023, there were 760,455 BEVs and 490,126 plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) on UK roads.

Source: SMMT

How many EVs were sold in the UK in 2022?

In 2022, 267,303 BEVs and 101,414 PHEVs were sold in the UK (accounting for 16.6% and 6.3% of all new car sales respectively).

Source: SMMT