Electric cars to be more popular than petrol by 2027, says campaign

It has been predicted by a government-backed project that electric cars will be more popular than their petrol alternatives by 2027.

The campaign known as Go Low Ultra, a government and industry-supported scheme, was launched to boost ownership of green vehicles. The campaign claims around 1.3 million electric cars will be bought in the UK in 2027, exceeding petrol and diesel car sales for the first time.

This year started with the best period for electric vehicle purchases, with 10,496 vehicles hitting the roads in the first three months of 2016. The data also suggests that an EV was sold in the UK every 13 minutes.

If the current trends keep up then the country is on course to match the predictions made by the government for all new cars and vans to be electric by 2040.

After just 1,000 electric vehicles arrived on UK roads in 2011, in 2015 that figured soared to over 28,000 and has continued to accelerate at the start of this year.

At the time of their release, electric cars were seen as a luxury for the rich, however as they become more popular they are also becoming more affordable and an attractive quantity for the rest of the consumer market.

Preorders for the Tesla Model 3 started in April and quickly exceeded 325,000 units in one week. While Tesla sold just a fraction of that number in the UK, and around 50,000 globally in 2015.

Poppy Welch, head of Go Low Ultra, said of the predictions: “The huge interest in electric vehicles (EVs) and their subsequent rapid rise in uptake has been spectacular so far, with more than 60,000 EVs registered in the past five years.

“These rises are just the start of the electric revolution as Go Low Ultra analysis suggests that electric vehicles could dominate the new car market as early as 2027.”

Car manufacturers are introducing more and more electric and plug-in hybrid models with many companies jumping on the bandwagon.

Volkswagen are expected to introduce 30 electric-powered vehicles with the company predicting to sell two and three million a year.