The adoption of plug-in electric vehicles in the United Kingdom is actively supported by the British government through the plug-in car and van grants schemes and other incentives. About 745,000 light-duty plug-in electric vehicles had been registered in the UK up until December 2021, consisting of 395,000 all-electric vehicles and 350,000 plug-in hybrids. Until 2019, the UK had the second largest European stock of light-duty plug-in vehicles in use after Norway.
Statistics
A surge of plug-in car sales began in Britain in 2014. Total registrations went from 3,586 in 2013, to 37,092 in 2016, and rose to 59,911 in 2018. The market share of the plug-in segment went from 0.16% in 2013 to 0.59% in 2014, and achieved 2.6% in 2018.
, the Mitsubishi Outlander P-HEV is the all-time top-selling plug-in car in the UK with almost 37,000 units registered, followed by the Nissan Leaf with nearly 24,000. Ranking third is the BMW 330e with more than 13,000 units, followed by the BMW i3 with 11,000.
, the UK had 19,108 public charging points at 6,703 locations, of which 4,391 were rapid charging points at 1,332 locations.
Government support
Speaking at the G8 summit in 2008, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced plans for Britain to be at the forefront of a "green car revolution". He suggested that by 2020 all new cars sold in Britain could be electric or hybrid vehicles producing less than . In preparation for the introduction of mass-produced electric vehicles to Britain's roads, trials of electric cars took place from 2009, with further trials in cities across the UK from 2010. Local councils were invited to submit bids to become Britain's first "green cities". One example is Glasgow, where a Scottish consortium was awarded more than to run a pilot electric car scheme from 2009 to 2011.
London mayor Boris Johnson also announced plans in April 2009 to deliver 25,000 electric car-charging places across the capital by 2015, in order to make London the "electric car capital of Europe". His target is to get 100,000 electric vehicles onto London's streets. Johnson also pledged to convert at least 1,000 Greater London Authority fleet vehicles to electric by 2015. Transport for London announced that all new taxis must be zero emissions capable by 2018. , there were about 3,000 plug-in electric vehicles in London, 3% of the mayor's goal, up from 1,700 electric cars in January 2009. The city also has only 1,408 charging points in operation, of which, only 57% were used in the first quarter of 2014. , Greater London postcode areas contain 8,000 electric vehicles according to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA).
Nissan's Sunderland plant – the largest car factory in the UK – was granted from the British government and up to from the European Investment Bank. Production of the Nissan Leaf at the Sunderland plant began in March 2013. The plant has the capacity to produce 60,000 lithium-ion batteries and 50,000 Leafs a year. The UK-produced Leaf, which is sold only in Europe, has an improved driving range, lower price and a more European design.
, the UK government had pledged to support the deployment of plug-in vehicles in the five years between March 2010 and March 2015. However, , only had been spent and an additional of had been committed for projects up to March 2015, of which were allocated for research and development; on infrastructure such as public charging points; and in consumer purchase incentives (Plug-in Car Grant). , the UK had around 5,000 public charging points, of which, only 200 are quick chargers. By April 2014 the UK was the leader in quick-charging deployment in Europe, with 211 CHAdeMO charging stations available across the country.
As a result of lower than initially expected electric and plug-in hybrid vehicle sales, in January 2014 the UK government launched the "Go Ultra Low" national campaign in partnership with five of the largest manufacturers of plug-in electric vehicles, BMW, Nissan, Renault, Toyota and Vauxhall. The campaign cost of and its objective was to promote the benefits of electric and plug-in hybrid cars to buyers. The government classifies any car emitting less than 75g/km of as ultra-low emission. The British government also announced its commitment to invest to install more rapid charge-points to make motorway journeys by electric car feasible. According to Nicholas Clegg, Deputy Prime Minister, "Our clear objective is to move the car fleet in this country to ultra low-emission vehicles by 2040 and to put money and policy money behind it."