Sales of electric vehicles (EVs) have soared lately, reaching its highest monthly level in December 2022. 

According to figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), nearly one-third of new cars sold at the end of last year were electrical or hybrid vehicles. This amounted to £10 billion in exports.  

With regards to the whole of 2022, EVs accounted for 17 per cent of new car sales, which is the first time it has surpassed sales of diesel vehicles.  

Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, noted that 2022 was a difficult one for car manufacturing in the UK, adding: “Though we still made more electric vehicles than ever before – high value, cutting-edge models, in demand around the world.”

He stated: “The potential for this sector to deliver economic growth by building more of these zero emission models is self-evident.”

Although 2022 was a good year for EVs, with the UK producing a record 234,066 battery, plug-in hybrid and hybrid electric cars and volumes having increased by 4.5 per cent from the previous year, manufacturing on all vehicles dropped. 

The findings showed annual car production fell by 9.8 per cent last year, due to global chip shortages and structural changes. 

As sales of EVs are continuing to soar, the government needs to install more charging points to cope with the demand. Official figures from the Department for Transport recently revealed there were 37,055 public charging points at the beginning of the year. 

To reach its target of 300,000 chargers by 2030, its installation rate needs to increase from 806 to 3,130 a month. 

To avoid queues at public charging stations, homeowners could consider domestic EV charging point installations. For more information, give us a call today.