Almost 20,000 new pure-electric cars were registered in the UK in June 2021 according to the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
Combining the 19,842 pure-EVs with 12,139 plug-in hybrid models (31,981), and the figure comfortably beats the combined diesel/mild-hybrid diesel total (26,416).
It's another month when trends are reinforced, with diesel dying off in the UK and electric vehicles - in particular pure-electric models - going from strength to strength.
Electric vehicles - combined EV & PHEV - accounted for more than 17% of the new car market in June 2021 - compared with almost 9.5% last year which, at the time, was considered a strong perfromance. Pure-EV sales are up 123% compared to June 2020, and PHEVs up 146%.
For the year to date, pure-EVs are up 139% compared to the first half of 2020, and PHEVs up 197%. Market share is now 14.5% (combined EV & PHEV), against last year's 7.7%.
June 2021 also saw the return of the Tesla Model 3 to the best-seller's list. The SMMT publishes the top 10 selling models for the month, as well as the cumulative top 10 for the year to date. A total of 5,468 units of the popular electric saloon were registered last month, compared to VW's Golf in second with 4,629 units.