Demand for Alternatively Fuelled Vehicles (AFV) grew significantly in the first quarter of 2017, with total registrations up by 29.9% over last year.

The largest contributor to the growth was sales of fully-electric vehicles, which reached 4,364 - 46.5% up on Q1 2016.

Hybrids also performed well, selling 21,314 units which represents a growth of 45.4%.

Plug-in hybrids had a less successful start to the year, with registrations showing a 9.5% decline compared with 2016.

Across Europe popularity for AFVs has grown substantially by 37.6%, with Spain reporting the largest increase of 87.4%.

AFV registrations by country: