UK: electric vehicle car parc 2010-2022
The total electric car parc of the United Kingdom reached over one million vehicles as of the fourth quarter of 2022. This was a year-over-year increase of 48.78 percent compared to the near 700,700 electric vehicles recorded in 2021.
Similarities with the European market
The UK's electric vehicle car parc comprised mostly battery-electric vehicles, relying solely on electric propulsion. This trend was boosted by rising battery-electric vehicle sales, which have been higher than their plug-in hybrid electric counterpart since 2019. This is in line with the overall European market, where battery-electric vehicles tend to record higher sales volumes in many national markets. As of 2022, the UK was among the leading European and global electric vehicle markets, ranking fifth in the world by electric vehicle revenue, and is projected to remain one of the market leaders through 2028.
Opportunities for automakers
In August 2022, around 45 percent of consumers in the United Kingdom reported being likely to change their vehicle brand when switching to an electric vehicle. This creates opportunities for automakers to enter the United Kingdom's electric vehicle market. In 2022, Tesla held around 21.4 percent of the UK's battery-electric market, over twice the share of BMW, which was second in the ranking, but some traditional fossil fuel vehicle brands are quick to electrify. As of July 2023, 29.3 percent of BMW's car sales in the UK were electric vehicles, compared to nearly 82 percent for Genesis.