Plug-in electric vehicles in the United Kingdom

[8] Speaking at the G8 summit in 2008, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced plans for Britain to be at the forefront of a "green car revolution".

He suggested that by 2020 all new cars sold in Britain could be electric or hybrid vehicles producing less than 100 grams of CO2 per kilometre (5.7 oz(CO2)/mi).

[19] As a result of lower than initially expected electric and plug-in hybrid vehicle sales, in January 2014 the UK government launched the "Go Ultra Low" national campaign in partnership with five of the largest manufacturers of plug-in electric vehicles, BMW, Nissan, Renault, Toyota and Vauxhall.

The campaign cost of £2.5 million and its objective was to promote the benefits of electric and plug-in hybrid cars to buyers.

The British government also announced its commitment to invest £9 million to install more rapid charge-points to make motorway journeys by electric car feasible.

"[20] In July 2014 Baroness Kramer, Minister of State for Transport, announced that all of the UK government's fleets would be supplied with funding to introduce electric vehicles.

[22] In 2020, the UK government announced an intention to ban sales of new petrol and diesel-powered cars (including hybrids) in 2035.

[29][30] Nevertheless, as forecasts estimated that the scheme would reached its 50,000 limit around November 2015, the government announced in August 2015 that the grant would continue until at least February 2016 for all plug-in cars with CO2 emissions of 75 g/km of under.

[34][35] Under the extended scheme, some plug-in hybrid sports car are no longer eligible for the grant, such as the BMW i8 because of its £100,000 (~US$150,000) purchase price tag.

To be eligible for the scheme, vans have to meet performance criteria to ensure safety, range, and ultra-low tailpipe emissions.

[43] Through the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV), the UK government provides grants towards the installation of up to two charge points at a residential address, or up to 20 at a workplace.

[45] On 19 November 2009, Andrew Adonis, the Secretary of State for Transport, announced a scheme called "Plugged-in-Places", making available £30 million to be shared between three and six cities to investigate further the viability of providing power supply for electric vehicles, and encouraging local government and business to participate and bid for funds.

[46] The scheme offers match-funding to consortia of businesses and public sector partners to support the installation of electric vehicle recharging infrastructure in lead places across the UK.

[55] As of February 2016[update], approved PHEVs include all extended-range cars such as the BMW i3 REx, and plug-in hybrids that emit 75g/km or less of CO2 and that meet the Euro 5 standard for air quality, such as the Audi A3 Sportback e-tron, BMW i8, Mitsubishi Outlander P-HEV (passenger and van variants), Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid, and Volkswagen Golf GTE.

Mayor Boris Johnson approved the new scheme in April 2013, after taking into account a number of comments received during the 12-week public consultation that took place.

[68] In addition, one Mini E was delivered to the government car pool in Downing Street to be tested by ministers in an urban environment on their official business around London.

Data collection and research was conducted by Oxford Brookes University's Sustainable Vehicle Engineering Centre throughout the UK project.

[73] As of January 2024, the chargepoint operators with the largest UK networks are Shell Recharge, Pod Point, Connected Kerb, and Char.gy.

[73] Regional operators include Source London, ChargePlace Scotland, Plugged-In Midlands, and eCar (for Northern Ireland).

[99] The Outlander P-HEV ended 2014 as the top selling plug-in electric car in the UK that year with 5,370 units sold.

[89] As of December 2014[update], the Leaf continued ranking as the top selling plug-in electric car in the UK ever with cumulative sales of 7,197 units since its introduction in March 2011.

[88] The surge in demand for plug-in cars continued during 2015, to the extent that 2014's ultra-low emission vehicle (ULEV) sales figure was passed in June 2015.

This figure includes a significant number of registered plug-in electric cars and vans which were not eligible for the grant schemes.

[108] As of December 2015[update], cumulative sales of the Outlander P-HEV, the top selling plug-in car in the UK ever, totaled 17,045 units registered,[108] and cumulative sales of the Nissan Leaf, the top selling all-electric car ever, totaled 12,433 units registered.

[86][108][81][89] Combined sales of the Outlander PHEV and the Nissan Leaf represent more than 50% of the British stock of plug-in electric cars sold since 2011.

[113] By early April 2016, two years since launch, there were 21,053 Outlander P-HEVs in the UK's roads, and the plug-in SUV sales represent 36.2% of the 58,186 eligible cars registered since the grant scheme was introduced in January 2011.

[SMMT 9] During the first half of 2016, the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV was the top-selling plug-in car in the UK with 5,738 units registered.

[SMMT 6] The Outlander P-HEV continued to lead sales of the plug-in electric segment in 2016 with 9,486 units delivered.

[117] By mid-October 2016, sales of the Outlander P-HEV passed the 25,000 unit mark, accounting for about 50% of all plug-in hybrid sold in the UK since 2010.

[121] As of September 2020[update], the Mitsubishi Outlander P-HEV is the all-time top selling plug-in car in the UK 47,447 units registered, followed by the Nissan Leaf with 33,492 and the Tesla Model 3 with 25,574.