The car industry has clocked up its longest period of growth for eight years.
But data shows that the electric vehicle (EV) revolution is still being held back by a lack of charging points.
About 145,000 new cars were registered in the UK in May – up 16.7 per cent on the same month last year, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) revealed.
This was the tenth consecutive month of growth – the best run since 2015 – but sales remain 21 per cent below pre-Covid levels.
Petrol cars were the best sellers, making up 57 per cent of all registrations.
Off the line: About 145,000 new cars were registered in the UK in May – up 16.7% on last year, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders revealed
But the number of new EVs on the road continued to lag – despite government plans to ban the sale of new diesel and petrol cars by 2030.
Registrations of fully battery-electric cars have made up just 15.7 per cent of market share so far this year, down from 16.6 per cent in 2022 as a whole.
Some experts say the main reason for this lull has been the lack of electric charger points being built, which puts consumers off. Analysis suggests that the Government will miss its charging infrastructure targets.
Last year, the Department for Transport pledged to ‘ensure that every motorway service area has at least six rapid chargers by the end of 2023’.
But as of mid-May, just 27 out of 119 motorway services in England have six or more high-powered devices.
Ministers aim to have 300,000 public charging points by 2030. But with just over 40,000 in place, the Government needs to increase its average monthly installations by about 215 per cent.
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