Over a million EVs now on Britain’s road; almost 40% more than previously

There are now over a million EVs on British roads, according to the most recent figures published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

In 2024, a record number of 41,964,268 vehicles were registered; an overall increase of 1.4% the previous year. Of this total, 36,165,401 were cars; a 1.3% jump on 2023. Regarding EVs, there are a total of 1.3m on UK roads; a year-on-year increase of 38.9%.

This upward trend is the result of several factors. These include improved EV charging infrastructure across the UK, financial incentives such as discounts offered by manufacturers across their EV ranges, plus money-saving home charging tariffs and salary sacrifice schemes from employers.

According to the latest SMMT numbers, almost 60% of EVs are registered to a business. In total, EV adoption has reduced average car CO2 by 1.6% and company car emissions by 5.6%.

However, motorists are holding onto their cars for longer than ever. At present, the average age of a car is now 9.5 years old; up from 9.3 years in 2023. Both are significantly older than the eight year-old average of 2019.

Regarding EVs and their positive growth trajectory, Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: “Britain’s vehicle parc is growing, providing essential mobility for the nation while reducing its environmental impact.

“However, there is scope to push environmental improvements much faster as motorists are holding onto their cars for longer, some one and half years longer on average, than only five years ago. Drivers need more incentives and greater confidence in infrastructure investment if we are to replace the high volumes of older high-emission cars with zero-emission alternatives.

“Success will keep the country on the move while driving up economic growth from every business dependent on road transport.”

According to a global EV survey published by the Global EV Alliance towards the end of last year, 92% of EV drivers would not return to an petrol/diesel-only car after making the switch to electrified motoring.