The first half of 2018 saw 28,054 pure electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles registered to drivers in the UK—a 25% increase on the same period in 2017—marking the most successful year-to-date for the plug-in car market.

Plug-in hybrids delivered the highest volume of registrations, with more than 21,000 having arrived on UK roads in 2018 so far. Meanwhile, bolstered by the launch of the new model in April, the Nissan LEAF continues to be the most popular pure electric car. A further 1,501 took to the roads in Q2, taking the total number of new LEAF registrations in 2018 to 3,511.

Following a strong performance in the first three months of the year, the second quarter of 2018 saw sales of 14,655—a 10% increase on Q1. This takes the total number of pure electric and plug-in hybrid cars registered to date to 161,409.

Driven largely by London, the South East is the region where new registrations have been highest; 9,880 pure electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles were registered there in the first six months of this year, 36% of the total number.

The South West (4,003), West Midlands (3,890), East Anglia (2,487) and Yorkshire (1,941) rounded out the top 5.