Sales figures for electric cars in the UK hit a new record high in March 2016, despite the government recently slashing £500 off grants for such vehicles.
Data from Go Ultra Low and the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders showed that 10,496 electric cars were sold in the UK during the first quarter of 2016, which is one every 13 minutes, according to the International Business Times.
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The record-breaking quarter saw a 23 per cent growth in electric vehicles sales compared to the same period in 2015, meaning 115 plug-in cars were registered every day on average.
On 1 March 2016, the maximum grant for electric vehicle purchases was cut from £5,000 to £4,500, but seems to have had little impact on sales. In fact, March was the strongest month of the quarter, with 7,144 new electric vehicles sold in the UK.
Of the data, Transport Minister Andrew Jones said: “These record figures show that hundreds of people every week are coming round to the fact that plug-in cars are cleaner, greener and cheaper to run.
“The UK is a world leader in the uptake of low-emission vehicles and our long-term economic plan is investing £600 million by 2020 to improve air quality, create jobs and achieve our goal of every new car and van in the UK being ultra-low-emission by 2040.”
