The latest UK electric car sales data for January 2023 shows that Oxford ranked number two in the UK for new electric vehicle sales.
Electric car sales in January 2023 made up 50% of total car sales, according to Electric Car Count – monthly electric car sales data compiled by New AutoMotive from the DVLA’s vehicle licensing database.
Peterborough came first with 56%, and Wimbledon came in as number three with 22%. Other national takeaways from the data include new electric car sales increased by 6% and diesel sales plummeted by 15% – almost 2,000 vehicles – compared to January 2022.
The regional figures highlight the pivotal role local government can play in the UK’s transition to electric vehicles. Oxford’s figures show that the local authorities have proactively supported the transition in their local area, making their jurisdiction a place where it is easy to charge and drive an EV.
Ben Nelmes, Chief Executive Officer, said: “Following a month of negative headlines for the UK’s transition to electric cars, we were pleasantly surprised to see sales of electric cars continue to grow. The data show that UK motorists are perfectly happy to embrace cleaner, cheaper, better transport.”
“This month’s collapse of Britishvolt is regrettable, but there is a bright future for British battery manufacturing. Ministers have a role to play and must make sure the UK is as attractive as possible to site battery manufacturing.
Read more: New battery plant in Oxfordshire to create around 300 jobs
“The UK needs a green industrial strategy if we are to attract the jobs, investment and growth that the global transition to electric vehicles offers.”
“A good first step would be to end the delay to the long-overdue ZEV Mandate. This scheme is vital to attracting investment and creating clean, green and future-proofed British jobs.”
Unusually for a month in which it made deliveries, Tesla did not dominate this table – the company sold just 530 cars in January, claiming under 4% of the market. It may be that the company’s deliveries this month were simply the late fulfilment of orders meant to be fulfilled last December.
At the top of the table, Volkswagen, Audi, and BMW achieved 10.09%, 10.0%, and 9.5% market share, respectively, meaning they collectively account for three in every ten new electric car sales over January.
Electric Car Count is a monthly data series from New AutoMotive, a not-for-profit independent transport research organisation with a mission to accelerate and support the UK’s transition to electric vehicles.
Electric Car Count provides an overview of newly licensed passenger cars. It is released monthly, in the first few days of each month, providing data on the previous month’s newly licensed vehicles.
