The Mitsubishi Outlander plug-in hybrid remains the most common ultra-low emission car on the road.

Analysis by the RAC Foundation of the latest DVLA data shows there were 25,447 Outlanders on the road at the end of 2016, significantly ahead of the pure-battery electric Nissan Leaf at 14,718.

The third most popular was the Mercedes-Benz C350 e (5,890) which pushed the BMW i3 (5,858) down into fourth place. Fifth was the Renault Zoe (4,974).

At the end of 2016 there were a total of 83,169 licensed plug-in car and van grant eligible vehicles on the UK’s roads - a 74% increase on 2015 (47,922).

Three of the five vehicles with the highest growth in licensed numbers over the quarter (end of quarter four compared with quarter three) were plug-in hybrid (PHEV) versions of regular cars:

1)Mitsubishi Outlander (PHEV) – 1,696 increase

2)Mercedes-Benz C350 e (PHEV) – 1,134

3)BMW 330 e (PHEV) – 895

4)Nissan Leaf (pure battery electric) – 655

5)BMW i3 (pure battery electric or range extended) - 641

Under the Government’s plug-in grant schemes: car buyers can get a grant of up to £4,500 depending on the model and van buyers a grant of up to £8,000.

Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said: “Six years into the plug-in grant scheme and the case for continued pump-priming looks strong if the Government really wants to kick start the market.

“Although the year-on-year growth might look impressive at 74%, it’s a rise from quite a small base, in a year when the total number of new car registrations hit an all-time high.

“2017 will be critical for the ultra-low emission world as several new models with much improved range are set to come into the showrooms.”

This is the list of all 48 vehicles that are, or have been, eligible for the Government’s plug-in car and van grant schemes and which were on the road in the UK at the end of Q4 2016 (the most recent date for which figures are available). 

Make and Model

Q4 2016

Q3 2016

Q2 2016

Q1 2016

Q4 2015

Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV (all variants)

         25,447

         23,751

         21,708

         19,945

         16,100

Nissan Leaf

         14,718

         14,063

         12,837

         12,469

         11,219

Mercedes-Benz C350 e

           5,890

           4,756

           3,337

           1,898

               628

BMW i3

(of which are range extender version)

5,858 (4,198)

 5,217 (3,700)

 4,457 (3,131)

 4,065 (2,855)

 3,574 (2,440)

Renault Zoe

           4,974

           4,744

           4,339

           3,918

           3,327

Tesla Model S

           4,454

           3,907

           3,312

           2,826

           2,087

BMW 330e

           3,447

           2,552

           1,479

               340

                  -  

Volkswagen Golf GTE

           3,231

           3,059

           2,657

           1,970

           1,359

Nissan e-NV200 (all variants)

           1,886

           1,710

           1,487

           1,243

           1,047

Audi A3 e-tron

           1,806

           1,699

           1,634

           1,445

           1,218

Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid

           1,671

           1,667

           1,655

           1,651

           1,580

Volvo Xc90 T8 Twin Engine

           1,610

           1,159

               813

               561

                 38

BMW i8

           1,549

           1,446

           1,307

           1,163

           1,022

Vauxhall Ampera

           1,278

           1,258

           1,267

           1,261

           1,272

Renault Kangoo ZE

               838

               805

               785

               755

               740

Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid (all variants)

               610

               484

               410

               366

               337

Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid

               515

               498

               475

               454

               395

BMW 225xe

               460

               290

               163

                 65

                  -  

Peugeot Ion

               418

               413

               405

               383

               374

Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive

               375

               333

               303

               193

               162

Mitsubishi i-Miev

               261

               255

               252

               257

               251

Kia Soul EV

               245

               244

               193

               170

               145

Kia Optima Saloon PHEV

               231

               207

 

 

 

Citroen C-Zero

               227

               220

               213

               192

               167

Smart ForTwo Electric Drive

               209

               213

               215

               214

               212

Volkswagen Passat GTE

               180

                 72

                   2

                   2

                   2

Volkswagen e-up!

               164

               161

               154

               150

               142

Volkswagen e-Golf

               135

               129

               123

               120

               114

Mercedes-Benz S500 Hybrid

               124

               124

               125

               129

               157

Chevrolet Volt

               119

               121

               119

               122

               122

Renault Fluence

                 75

                 78

                 79

                 78

                 70

Audi Q7 e-tron

                 62

                 68

 

 

 

Tesla Model X

                 42

 

 

 

 

Ford Focus Electric

                 22

                 22

                 22

                 19

                 19

Mia (all variants)

                 13

                 14

                 15

                 15

                 15

Daimler Mercedes-Benz Vito E-Cell

                 13

                 20

                 22

                 23

                 23

Toyota Mirai

                 12

                 12

                 11

                   9

                   4

BYD e6

                  -  

                  -  

                  -  

                  -  

                  -  

BD Otomotiv eTraffic

                  -  

                  -  

                  -  

                  -  

                  -  

BD Otomotiv eDucato

                  -  

                  -  

                  -  

                  -  

                  -  

Citroen Berlingo EV

                  -  

                  -  

                  -  

                  -  

                  -  

Peugeot ePartner

                  -  

                  -  

                  -  

                  -  

                  -  

Smith Electric Smith Edison

                  -  

                  -  

                  -  

                  -  

                  -  

Mahindra e20

                  -  

                  -  

                  -  

                  -  

 

Hyundai IONIQ EV

                  -  

                  -  

 

 

 

Mercedes-Benz E350 e

                  -  

                  -  

 

 

 

BMW 530e

                  -  

 

 

 

 

Mini Countryman PHEV

                  -  

 

 

 

 

Total

         83,169

         75,771

         66,375

         58,471

         47,922

Note: Some of the vehicles above might have been bought without the grant. Some might be licensed to manufacturers and dealers rather than customers. The total number licensed is below the total number of grants claimed because of the lag between an order being placed and the car being delivered.

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