Sales of new electric cars are up more than 27% so far this year in an overall market that’s up 18.6% and account for 16.3% of the market. However, the latest official figures show the proportion of electric cars sold in November dropped to 15.6% of the market.

While industry commentators have blamed the Government’s lack of incentives for private buyers for the smaller market share, the number of electric cars sold in the month was still up 22% on November 2022.

Plug-in hybrids saw a huge jump in sales last month, up 78% on the same time last year and taking just over 10% of the market. Year-to-date, plug-in hybrids are up 39% and account for 7.3% of the new car market.

However, the market was partially distorted by Tesla which had a particularly low number of deliveries compared to November 2022 as it waited for stocks of the new Model 3 to arrive.

A year ago the all-electric brand sold 6,025 cars, this November it sold 1,648 cars. However, Tesla is still running up 15% for the first 11 months of 2023.

Several car dealers that Electrifying.com spoke to said the Government’s announcement moving the 2030 zero-emissions deadline to 2035 had a marked negative impact on consumer demand.

Speaking at a recent motor trade conference, Graeme Potts, managing director of Eden Motor Group, said: “The fact of the matter is that inventory, marketing, pricing and so many other factors are being driven by the desire for change of technology that is not yet front and centre in the mind for customers, and it's massively distorting the marketplace.

“I have very few, very few internal combustion engine vehicles unsold in stock in my business, and I've currently got £6 million  worth of unsold BEVs in my stock.”

A slow month for Tesla has dragged down the EV market