Mitsubishi Outlander remains top
The Mitsubishi Outlander plug-in hybrid has held its lead over the pure battery-electric Nissan Leaf to remain the most common ultra-low carbon car on the UK’s roads.
Analysis by the RAC Foundation of the latest DVLA data shows there were 31,002 Outlanders on the road at the end of September 2017, up 1,594 on the previous quarter.
This compares with the 18,922 Leafs, up 1,570 on the previous quarter.
Third came the Mercedes-Benz C350 e (8,634), followed by the BMW i3 (8,365) and the BMW 330e (7,402).
Overall, at the end of September 2017, there were 116,525 licensed vehicles on the roads that are or have been eligible for the government’s plug-in car and van grant schemes.
This total is 54% higher than the 75,797 vehicles on the roads at the end of September 2016.
Under the government’s plug-in grant schemes, car buyers can get a grant of up to £4,500, depending on the model, and van buyers a grant of up to £8,000.
Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said:
“These figures show that despite the slump in sales of new diesel cars we are still waiting for the moment when the ultra-green vehicle market really takes off.
“Electric vehicles are becoming more common they are yet to become an everyday sight. While the 50% year-on-year growth is encouraging the low overall total shows why the government commitment to incentives made in the Budget is so important.”
The latest SMMT data shows that in the year to the end of November new car registrations of 2,388,144 was down by 5% or 126,620 vehicles on the same period in 2016. Diesel registrations have fallen sharply – down 16% year-on-year – and have only partially been offset by rises in registrations of petrol and alternatively fuelled vehicles.
Table: 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 Q3 2017.
| Rank | Make and Model |
Q3 2017 |
Q2 2017 |
Q1 2017 |
Q4 2016 |
Q3 2016 |
| 1 | Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV
(all variants)* |
31,002 |
29,408 |
27,677 |
25,447 |
23,751 |
| 2 | Nissan Leaf |
18,922 |
17,352 |
16,501 |
14,718 |
14,063 |
| 3 | Mercedes-Benz C350 e |
8,634 |
7,724 |
6,855 |
5,890 |
4,756 |
| 4 | BMW i3
(of which are Range Extender version) |
8,365 (6056) |
7,597 (5,464) |
6,798 (4,903) |
5,858 (4,198) |
5,217 (3,700) |
| 5 | BMW 330e |
7,402 |
6,039 |
4,873 |
3,447 |
2,552 |
| 6 | Tesla Model S |
6,217 |
5,575 |
5,172 |
4,454 |
3,907 |
| 7 | Renault Zoe |
5,729 |
5,432 |
5,212 |
4,974 |
4,744 |
| 8 | Volkswagen Golf GTE |
4,384 |
3,595 |
3,341 |
3,231 |
3,059 |
| 9 | Volvo Xc90 T8 Twin Engine |
2,979 |
2,522 |
2,184 |
1,610 |
1,159 |
| 10 | Nissan e-NV200 (all variants)* |
2,598 |
2,324 |
2,150 |
1,886 |
1,710 |
| 11 | Audi A3 e-tron |
2,348 |
2,084 |
1,961 |
1,806 |
1,699 |
| 12 | Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid |
2,005 |
1,889 |
1,785 |
1,671 |
1,667 |
| 13 | BMW i8 |
1,719 |
1,711 |
1,641 |
1,549 |
1,446 |
| 14 | Tesla Model X |
1,686 |
1,112 |
666 |
42 |
|
| 15 | Vauxhall Ampera |
1,265 |
1,266 |
1,282 |
1,278 |
1,258 |
| 16 | BMW 530e |
1,174 |
404 |
29 |
– |
|
| 17 | BMW 225xe |
1,157 |
949 |
771 |
460 |
290 |
| 18 | Volkswagen Passat GTE |
1,090 |
704 |
447 |
180 |
72 |
| 19 | Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid |
938 |
636 |
513 |
515 |
498 |
| 20 | Renault Kangoo ZE |
904 |
876 |
864 |
838 |
805 |
| 21 | Mercedes-Benz E350 e |
820 |
583 |
271 |
22 |
– |
| 22 | Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid
(all variants) |
759 |
725 |
701 |
610 |
484 |
| 23 | Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive |
489 |
488 |
425 |
375 |
333 |
| 24 | Peugeot Ion |
426 |
421 |
418 |
418 |
413 |
| 25 | Kia Soul EV |
377 |
328 |
288 |
245 |
244 |
| 26 | Mini Countryman PHEV |
371 |
128 |
– |
– |
|
| 27 | Kia Optima Saloon PHEV |
339 |
312 |
299 |
231 |
207 |
| 28 | Mitsubishi i-Miev |
261 |
257 |
257 |
261 |
255 |
| 29 | Smart ForTwo Electric Drive |
260 |
228 |
210 |
209 |
213 |
| 29 | Audi Q7 e-tron |
260 |
181 |
79 |
62 |
68 |
| 31 | Hyundai IONIQ EV |
239 |
224 |
– |
– |
– |
| 32 | Citroen C-Zero |
233 |
230 |
227 |
227 |
220 |
| 33 | Volkswagen e-Golf |
189 |
147 |
137 |
135 |
129 |
| 34 | Hyundai IONIQ PHEV |
188 |
– |
|||
| 35 | Volkswagen e-up! |
176 |
171 |
167 |
164 |
161 |
| 36 | Kia Niro PHEV |
137 |
– |
|||
| 37 | Mercedes-Benz S500 Hybrid |
121 |
121 |
121 |
124 |
124 |
| 38 | Chevrolet Volt |
120 |
118 |
119 |
119 |
121 |
| 39 | Renault Fluence |
71 |
73 |
75 |
75 |
78 |
| 40 | Citroen Berlingo EV |
61 |
51 |
45 |
33 |
26 |
| 41 | Toyota Mirai |
41 |
32 |
30 |
12 |
12 |
| 42 | Smart ForFour Electric Drive |
27 |
11 |
|||
| 43 | Ford Focus Electric |
19 |
22 |
21 |
22 |
22 |
| 44 | Mia |
14 |
14 |
13 |
13 |
14 |
| 45 | Daimler Mercedes-Benz Vito E-Cell |
9 |
9 |
11 |
13 |
20 |
| 46 | BYD e6 |
– |
– |
– |
– |
– |
| = | BD Otomotiv eTraffic |
– |
– |
– |
– |
– |
| = | BD Otomotiv eDucato |
– |
– |
– |
– |
– |
| = | Peugeot ePartner |
– |
– |
– |
– |
– |
| = | Smith Electric Smith Edison |
– |
– |
– |
– |
– |
| = | Mahindra e20 |
– |
– |
– |
– |
– |
| = | LDV EV80 |
– |
||||
| Total |
116,525 |
104,073 |
94,636 |
83,224 |
75,797 |
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.
*The Mitsubishi Outlanders on the road are predominantly SUVs however a number will be commercial van versions. Most Nissan e-NV200s will be commercial vans though a number will be seven-seaters.
ENDS
Contacts:
Philip Gomm – Head of External Communications – RAC Foundation
020 7747 3445 | 07711 776448 | [email protected]
Notes to editors:
The RAC Foundation is a transport policy and research organisation that explores the economic, mobility, safety and environmental issues relating to roads and their users. The Foundation publishes independent and authoritative research with which it promotes informed debate and advocates policy in the interest of the responsible motorist.
The RAC Foundation is a registered charity, number 1002705.
SMMT new car registration data for November 2017:
https://www.smmt.co.uk/vehicle-data/car-registrations/
The current structure of the plug-in car and van schemes – and the grants available for particular models – are described here:
https://www.gov.uk/plug-in-car-van-grants
Details of the Foundation’s work is available at www.racfoundation.org
The licensing figures by model are available to view on the RAC Foundation website:
http://www.racfoundation.org/data/plug-in-grant-eligible-vehicles-licensed-by-quarter
It is available to embed on your website using the following code:
<iframe class=”highcharts-iframe” src=”//cloud.highcharts.com/embed/igocyt” style=”border: 0; width: 100%; height: 500px”></iframe>
The overall number of plug-in car and van grant eligible vehicles licensed plotted over time (broken down by pure electric versus plug-in hybrids) is also available on the same webpage:
http://www.racfoundation.org/data/plug-in-grant-eligible-vehicles-licensed-by-quarter
It is available to embed on your website using the following code:
<iframe class=”highcharts-iframe” src=”//cloud.highcharts.com/embed/ijykuc” style=”border: 0; width: 100%; height: 500px”></iframe>