Electric vehicles (EV) have continued to gain popularity in the UK, rising to record 19,252 so far in 2016, according to Go Ultra Low. Year to date registrations for electric cars rose 31.8% compared to the first half of 2015, and April to June saw a 22nd consecutive quarterly increase, up 38.% from Q2 2015.

These figures pushed registration values to just shy of 70,000 since the introduction of the Plug-in Car Grant by the British government in January 2011.

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The grant provides up to £5000 off the cost of a new EV, and other grants are available for home charging points. EV drivers are also not subjected to road tax or London’s congestion charge.

Transport Minister John Hayes said: “We want to make the UK a world leader in electric vehicle uptake and manufacture, to ensure that by 2050 every car and van on our roads is a zero emission vehicle. We are backing this with…more than £600m of government investment to help grow the UK market.”

March 2016 saw the highest month on record for EV uptake, with 7,400 electric cars registered. Registrations in H1 2016 were 4,640 units ahead of the same period last year.

Poppy Welch, head of Go Ultra Low, said: “The continued growth in uptake of electric cars speaks for itself as registration records continue to be broken by motorists encouraged by the benefits electric motoring can bring.

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“More drivers than ever are becoming motivated to go green. The variety of electric models has expanded significantly, notably so in the past two years, giving motorists more choice than ever before.”