Number of EVs on UK roads to hit one million this month

The number of fully electric vehicles on the road in the UK is expected to hit one million this month, according to new research from the RAC Foundation.

According to the figures based on analysis of data from green consultancy New AutoMotive, more than 967,000 of the vehicles were licensed at the end of November, up from 674,000 at the end of 2022.

RAC Foundation director Steve Gooding said: “At a time when hard-pressed people are acutely aware of the cost of living, the price of buying and running a battery-powered car both have to stack up.

“Ironically the recent fall in pump prices, hugely welcomed by tens of millions of drivers, does few favours for salesmen seeking to shift EVs based on their relative running costs.

“Car makers are now under a legal obligation to sell a growing percentage of EVs each year.

“But with the public being under no obligation to buy them, the pressure is on for the auto companies to come up with keenly priced offers that will tempt car-buyers to make the switch.”

Responding to the news, Chris Pateman-Jones,  CEO of leading on-street EV charging provider Connected Kerb, said: “One million EVs on the road means one million fewer polluting combustion cars. It’s an incredible milestone and one we should celebrate. But we can’t rest on our laurels – there are still massive challenges to overcome and time is not on our side. It’s taken decades to reach a million EVs. We now have just 11 years until the 2035 phase-out of new petrol and diesel vehicles sales.

“Most urgently, consumer confidence must be rebuilt following the delay to the 2030 petrol and diesel last year, and with 60% of UK residents having no access to a driveway to charge their EV, the deployment of affordable, accessible and reliable kerbside charging needs to rapidly accelerate. Top-notch public charging is the vital keystone that’s needed to keep boosting uptake from one million to the tens of millions.”