UK: Plug-In Car Sales Decreased In June 2022, Tesla Model Y Shines

The Tesla Model Y Entered the Top 10 for the first half of the year.

Tesla Model Y

Mark Kane

By: Mark Kane

Jul 9, 2022 at 10:00am ET

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In June, new passenger car registrations in the UK decreased by 24.3% year-over-year to 140,948, which is described as the weakest performance for the month since 1996. Also the first half of the year was pretty challenging with 802,079 units (down 11.9% year-over-year).

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) notes that the main problem in the UK right now is the ongoing challenges in component supply, which limits the availability of new cars.

Also, the plug-in electric car segment has been affected by the supply issues and decreased by 4.8% year-over-year in June, to 30,451. The only positive thing is that the plug-in share expanded to 21.6% (from 17.2% a year ago).

In the case of the plug-in category, the all-electric car sales keep growing, but the rate of growth slowed down to almost 15% year-over-year last month. The plug-in hybrids are already in the red for four consecutive months with a quite significant -36% in June.

Plug-in electric car registrations in the UK – June 2022

BEVs: 22,737 (up 15% year-over-year) at market share of 16.1%
PHEVs: 7,714 (down 36% year-over-year) at market share of 5.5%
Total: 30,451 (down 4.8% year-over-year) at market share of 21.6%

So far this year, more than 166,000 new passenger plug-in cars were registered in the UK, reaching an average market share of over 20%.

New plug-in car registrations, year-to-date in 2022:

BEVs: 115,249 (up 56% year-over-year) - market share of 14.4%
PHEVs: 51,263 (down 12% year-over-year) - market share of 6.4%
Total: 166,512 (up 26% year-over-year) - market share of 20.8%

More details, including also other types:

Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said:

“The semiconductor shortage is stifling the new car market even more than last year’s lockdown. Electric vehicle demand continues to be the one bright spot, as more electric cars than ever take to the road, but while this growth is welcome it is not yet enough to offset weak overall volumes, which has huge implications for fleet renewal and our ability to meet overall carbon reduction targets. With motorists facing rising fuel costs, however, the switch to an electric car makes ever more sense and the industry is working hard to improve supply and prioritise deliveries of these new technologies given the savings they can afford drivers.”

Top models

In June, the Tesla Model Y was the second most registered model in the UK with 4,194 units, which enabled it to enter the top 10 for the first half of the year with 12,011 units. The Tesla Model Y is the top-selling all-electric model in the country this year.

It's noteworthy that the Vauxhall Corsa-e (the top model overall) also includes an all-electric version, which noted 2,677 units YTD (about 12% out of the total 22,212 YTD).

LCVs

In the case of light commercial vehicles (LCV), some 26,433 were registered last month (down 23% year-over-year). Out of that, about 2,015 were all-electric (up 52%), which translated to a market share of 7.6%.

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The top BEV model happens to be the Vauxhall Vivaro-e with 809 units in June and 2,649 YTD.

"In June, 809 Vivaro-e models were sold, totalling 2,649 for the first six months of the year – outperforming every other e-LCV in the market. The strong performance of the Vivaro-e has helped ensure Vauxhall is the best-selling e-LCV manufacturer in the UK for the first half of 2022."