Plug-in electric vehicles in the United Kingdom

The introduction of plug-in electric vehicles in the United Kingdom is actively supported by the British government, which, as of November 2013, has pledged £400 million to support the deployment of plug-in vehicles in the five years to March 2015. More than 24,500 plug-in electric vehicles have been registered in the UK up until December 2014 including all-electric cars, commercial vans and plug-in hybrids, of which, more than half (14,598) were registered in 2014. This figure includes 1,467 registered electric cars and vans which were not eligible for the Plug-in Grant. As of November 2013, Britain had around 5,000 public charging points, of which, only 200 are quick chargers.Before the market launch of highway-capable mass production plug-in electric cars, a total of 1,096 electric vehicles were registered in the country between 2006 and December 2010, and during this time, the G-Wiz, a quadricycle, listed as the top-selling EV for several years. Highway-capable pure electric car registrations climbed from 138 units in 2010 to 1,082 units during 2011. During 2012, a total of 2,254 plug-in electric cars were registered in the UK, with vehicles eligible for the Plug-in Car Grant representing a 0.1% market share of total new car sales in 2012. A total of 3,586 plug-in electric cars were registered during 2013, representing a 0.16% market share of total new cars sales in 2013.The British market experienced a surge of plug-in car sales during 2014, as total registrations quadruple from 3,586 in 2013 to 14,498 units in 2014. All-electric car registrations grew 167% while plug-in hybrid registrations were up 628% from a year earlier. The plug-in electric car segment captured a 0.59% market share of new car sales in 2014, over three times and a half the market share of 2013 (0.16%). As of December 2014, the Nissan 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. The Mitsubishi Outlander P-HEV, introduced in 2014,became the country's the top selling plug-in hybrid ever with 5,370 units sold in 2014. Sales of the Mitsubishi Outlander P-HEV in the British market reached the 10,000 unit milestone in March 2015, allowing the plug-in hybrid to overtake the Leaf as the all-time top selling plug-in electric vehicle in the UK.The Plug-in Car Grant programme started on 1 January 2011 and is available across the UK. The programme reduces the up-front cost of eligible cars by providing a 25% grant towards the cost of new plug-in cars capped at £5,000. Both private and business fleet buyers are eligible for this grant which is received at the point of purchase. The programme was extended in February 2012 to include plug-in vans. Van buyers can receive 20% - up to £8,000 - off the cost of a plug-in van. To be eligible for the scheme, vans have to meet performance criteria to ensure safety, range, and ultra-low tailpipe emissions. Consumers, both business and private can receive the discount at the point of purchase. As of January 2015, the cumulative number of eligible registered plug-in electric vehicles that have benefited with the subsidy totaled over 25,000 units since the launch of the two programmes, of which, a total of 21,680 were eligible passenger cars registered since January 2011.