London's Ultra Low Emission Zone sends EV car sales surging

Electric car sales surged by 88 per cent in July, with drivers registering one every minute as the expansion of London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez) approaches.

In total, 23,010 battery electric vehicles were registered, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). 

This represented a new registration every 60 seconds based on DVLA working hours.

Surge: Drivers registered one electric car every minute as the expansion of London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone approaches

The EV surge helped overall vehicle registrations jump by 28.3 per cent to 143,921 in July, meaning car sales have now risen for 12 consecutive months.

It is also the highest number since July 2020, when pent-up demand from the first few months of lockdown was unleashed.

But as the Government aims to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030, there are fears that Britain’s EV revolution is stalling for lack of evenly distributed public charging points.