DfT data points to increase in low emission vehicles

The Department for Transport (DfT) has released its latest vehicle licensing statistics, reporting a continued rise in the uptake of ultra-low emission vehicles (ULEVs).

The number of ULEVs is up 89% from 2014

The statistics reveal that over the course of 2015, 3.21 million vehicles were registered in Great Britain, of which 29,963 were new ULEVS — up 89%, from 15,833 during 2014.

ULEVs represented 0.9% of all new vehicle registrations, compared with 0.5% in 2014.

In a report published in September, the DfT reported that 9,657 ULEVs were registered in the UK from April to June 2016, representing 1.1% of all new registrations (see AirQualityNews.com story).

However, the report also showed that the proportion of diesel vehicles has continued to grow. By December 2015 there were 11.4 million diesel cars, accounting for 37.8% of the total, up from only 7.4% in 1994.

ULEV Growth

DfT figures show that ULEVs made up 0.9% of all new registrations in 2015 (source: DfT)

Alternative fuel vehicles — vehicles that use alternatives to purely petrol or diesel fuel, including gas, electricity, or a combination such as gas bi-fuel and hybrid electric — have also shown consistent growth.

According to the DfT, “most of this increase has been due to vehicles eligible for plug-in car and van grants.” New registrations for these grants in October to December 2015 included 6,625 cars and 169 vans, 14% up on the same period in 2014.

The plug-in car and van grants were launched in in January 2011 and February 2012, with a major funding boost from March 2016 (see AirQualityNews.com story).

The growth in ULEVs is also being influenced by new models coming into the market and increasingly competitive pricing. The models with the most registrations in the latest quarter were the Mitsubishi Outlander with 2,378, followed by the Nissan Leaf with 953 and the Renault Zoe with 939.