Electric car sales were up almost 60% last month, compared to the same month last year, helping the overall new car registration figure to finish up almost 17% in May. The rise equates to a 9,000 hike in electric car registrations.

For the year-to-date electric car sales are up more than 31%, with fully electric cars taking almost 16% of the market, up from 14% this time last year.

The boost to electric cars has helped the year-to-date total new car registrations rise almost 17% with May the tenth consecutive month of growth in sales.

A third of May’s increase in electric vehicle sales was down to Tesla which sold only a handful of cars in May 2022, but well over 3,000 last month.

Tesla’s Model Y is the best-selling electric car in the UK with 2,509 sold in May and 14,012 so far this year.

Volkswagen, and sister companies Audi, Skoda and Cupra, all saw significant increases in sales with manufacturer sources telling Electrifying.com that supply was now “back to normal” for electric cars. However, this 'normal' could mean delivery times of between six to nine months for some models.

Plug-in hybrid cars are also performing well with sales up by almost 6,000 for the first five months of 2023 compared with 2022. 

New car dealers that Electrifying.com spoke to have been broadly positive about new car orders in total and that electric car sales are still strong with some longer order times for in-demand models.

However, they have added that vast majority of demand for electric cars is in the company car market with private sales running at a lower rate.

Tesla Model Y Review

PHEV sales are also up for the month