New registrations of ultra-low emission vehicles (ULEVs) in the UK are growing rapidly according to the DfT, with figures from the first quarter of 2016 showing a rise of more than 500% over a two year period.
Released on 7 July, the data shows that between January and March, 11,755 new ULEVs were registered, a year-on-year increase of 31% and an rise of 508% from the same period in 2014.
During the first quarter of 2016, ULEVs represented 1% of all new registrations, compared with 0.8% over the previous year, and 0.2% over the year before that.
The DfT report also examined people’s attitudes towards electric vehicles. The 2016 survey found that 5% of respondents said they were thinking about buying an electric car or van – similar figures to the corresponding surveys from 2015 and 2014.
51% of respondents also said that low CO2 emissions was a factor when it comes to buying a new car – 4% fewer than boot size (55%) and 32% fewer than cost (83%).
With traffic levels at a record high, governments across the UK are keen to promote the use of ULEVs.
Only last month (16 June) the Scottish Government announced that £7.8m is being made available to businesses in a bid to help reduce transport emissions, while in May, the UK Government confirmed £21m of funding for councils across the country to help promote green forms of transport.
The Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) is currently overseeing a project to help the electricity industry better understand how plug-in electric vehicles (PIVs) could be conveniently charged at home.
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