Boost for traditional hybrids

Petrol hybrids without a plug had a notable surge in popularity and made up 59.9 per cent of all new electric vehicle (EV) registrations last month.

A breakdown of new EV sales figures by the Motor Industry Association (MIA) shows the uptake of such vehicles increased from 46.5 per cent in June. 

It takes the year-to-date market share for traditional petrol hybrids to 48.6 per cent.

Plug-in hybrids’ (PHEVs) proportion of registrations slipped from 30.7 per cent in June to 21.5 per cent last month, giving it 23.1 per cent of the market so far in 2022.

The downward trend was repeated for battery electric vehicles (BEVs), which went from 22.4 per cent to 18.6 per cent between June and July, giving it 28.1 per cent year to date.

Diesel market recovering

In the new-vehicle market overall, EV models have scored 20 per cent of all registrations in the year to date, according to MIA’s figures. 

This number was bolstered by a 39.3 per cent share in April and it has remained above 20 per cent since, clocking 26.7 per cent in July.

Petrol vehicles account for 43.4 per cent of registrations so far this year after fluctuating fortunes over the first seven months of 2022. 

In July, such vehicles accounted for 42.8 per cent of the market, which was down from scores above 50 per cent in the previous two months but up from 33.9 per cent in March.

Meanwhile, the market share for diesel vehicles continues to edge up after it plunged from 53.2 per cent in March to 15.6 per cent in April when the full clean car discount scheme was introduced.

Year to date, the diesel sector is now on 36.6 per cent and it recorded 30.5 per cent in July.

• Note: A petrol electric hybrid is a vehicle with its wheels completely driven by an electric motor and a petrol engine used only to charge the battery