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Transport secretary, Grant Shapps announced on World EV Day last week, a range of measures, including £12m in funding for research and development (R&D) to accelerate EV uptake. These include parking spaces painted green, charge points at supermarkets and popular tourist sites, and batteries that could charge in 6 minutes.

While the electric movement continues to gain traction, the latest carwow Best Selling EV table has revealed the Nissan Leaf, Renault Zoe and Peugeot E-208 as the top three selling EVs so far this year.  The Nissan Leaf and Renault Zoe account for more than 50% of the best-selling EV sales year-to-date, confirming their lead over competitor models.

Despite the Volkswagen E-Golf claiming 4^th position during the first quarter of 2020 following a strong sales performance, the Hyundai Kona EV edged in to take 4th place post lockdown and continues to remain there year-to-date.

Hyundai’s commitment to eco-mobility and its much-publicised Hyundai Mercury Prize, a campaign focused on getting people to think about the environment and ultimately switch to electric, appears to be resonating with the eco-conscious car buyer.  Both the Hyundai Kona EV and its Ioniq-Electric appear in the Best Selling EVs from 18th March, post lockdown.

Whilst the Volkswagen E-Golf holds 5^th place year-to-date, it dropped out of the Best Selling EV league table altogether during the period 18th March to date, likely due to Volkswagen EV demand rapidly shifting to the recently announced all-electric ID3.

Demand for VW’s ID3 has heavily outstripped supply in 2020, with wait times for VWs new electric hero model being well over 12 months. The Peugeot E-208 stepped into 3rd position from 18th March and continues to hold this place year-to-date despite competition from other manufacturers.

The BMW 13 and the Skoda Citigo E-IV also proved popular with carwow buyers from January to March but these too fell from the carwow Best Selling EV league table post 18th March and have failed to make a return appearance so far.

Perhaps demonstrating the draw of the dealer forecourt, the Smart EQ For-four sneaked into 10th position in the carwow Best Selling EV league table when dealerships reopened for business (1st June to date) with the Hyundai Ionic-Electric disappearing.

Sepi Arani, Head of OEM at carwow comments: “carwow saw a continued but dramatic increase in AFV sales in August year-on-year, with electric cars up 51% and plug-in hybrids up 70%. Whilst the government aims to phase out sales of conventional petrol and diesel cars by 2035, many consumers have already become far more environmentally aware since experiencing the positive impact lockdown had on air pollution, not just locally, but globally. This in turn is helping to expedite the move towards zero emissions in the UK.”

However, Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, called for greater financial support and tax breaks for clean vehicles to make a ‘massive difference’.  He said: “Sales of EVs are picking up but they’re still a new technology, and it’s an expensive technology. We need carrots, not sticks, and confidence, not confusion. We need to reassure consumers, most notably about charging.”