UK electric vehicle sales climb over 250,000 in second quarter

• 250,638 electric vehicles sold in the UK during Q2’23 - representing 54% market share - PwC’s latest EV Sales Review

• H1’23 UK EV sales at 514,684 - increasing by 27% vs H1’22

• Battery EV model sales see significant global growth - +52% across all analysed markets vs Q2’22. 

Sales of electric vehicles (EVs) continued momentum in the UK during Q2 2023, generating over half of total market share, according to new statistics from PwC’s Electric Vehicle Sales Review.

In total, 250,638 EVs were sold in the UK during Q2, an increase of almost a third (32.8%) compared with the same period in 2022. Hybrid models were the most popular choice for UK motorists, with 143,513 units sold, generating a 31.5% market share. Hybrid popularity was followed by battery (BEV) models (76,735 sales) and plug-in (PHEV) (30,390). 

Battery model (BEV) sales in the top five European markets* recorded growth of 49% in the second quarter compared to Q2 2022. Of these, larger BEV markets all enjoyed significant comparative increases, with the UK and Germany both growing by 50% and France by 47%.

BEV UK market share currently sits at around 16%, which the research considers an inflection point at which many more mainstream consumers seriously consider a BEV purchase and growth rates can accelerate. Elsewhere, PHEV sales in the top five European markets declined by 6% vs. Q2 2022, with a current UK market share of 6.5%.

In almost all major markets, BEV sales grew far more than the total light vehicle market. In the ten Western European focus markets**, BEV sales increased by 49% in the second quarter of 2023 in comparison with the equivalent period last year, whereas the total market grew by 17%. In the United States, the corresponding percentages were 67% and 19%, and in China 49% and 29%. Across all 20 analysed markets***, the BEV market increased by more than half (52%) vs Q2’22. 

Cara Haffey, Manufacturing and Automotive Lead at PwC UK, said:

“With UK EV sales up nearly a third compared to the same period last year, our latest findings demonstrate that motorists are increasingly feeling that now is the time to make the switch, with EV market share remaining over 50% and up another percentage point from the previous quarter. 

“Whilst the uptake in sales is encouraging, given how vital a component electric vehicles are in the move to decarbonising transport as a whole - it’s important that supporting infrastructure such as public charging points receive the required investment and policy support in order to ensure motoring networks are capable of supporting increasing amounts of electric vehicles on the roads.”