The strong performance of the Tesla Model 3 has boosted the UK new car market, with electric vehicle registrations jumping even as the overall market for new car sales dropped 35 per cent in June.
Although better than May’s near 90% drop, registrations of new fossil-fuel cars were well down year-to-date in June compared to the same time in 2019, with diesel in particular falling out of favour with a near 60% drop to just 23,000 registrations, while petrol car registrations were down 40% to 88,000 compared to 2019.
But as more all-electric, plug-in hybrid (PHEV) and various forms of non-pluggable hybrid models become available in the UK, drivers are increasingly choosing to go green.
There are now 140 plug-in models available in the UK, and full electric vehicle registrations increased a significant 260% from the same timein  2019 and PHEV registrations increased 117%, according to data gathered by the UK’s Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
It seems clear that transition to electric vehicles is underway, as it clearly is in Germany, which has delivered similar results, and it promises to move even more quickly should the UK follow through with the latest urge from the UK Committee on Climate Change to bring forward a ban on petrol car sales from 2035 20 2032.
Meanwhile, the Tesla Model 3 has cemented its lead as best seller among electric vehicles in June, and has also entered the top ten in overall car models.
Having made it into the top 10 of SMMT data, we can now confirm that the total number of Model 3s registered in the UK for the second quarter 2020 comes in at a little more than 4,000 units.
Add that to data from the UK department of transport that says a little more than 16,000 Model 3 have been sold in the UK since April 2019 through to March 2020 and this means there are 20,000 Model 3s now on UK roads.
