Electric Cars steal the market share in 2014

2014 hasn't been the best year for traditional petrol and diesel cars, as new figures revealed that electric car sales in the UK stealing the market share.

The latest statistics from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) show a 56% rise compared to the same time period in 2013, and market share has also grown from 1.4% in 2013 to 1.9% this year.

An SMMT spokesman told BusinessGreen the growth is primarily down to more models being available, with a wider range of features on offer. If you compare the market to the way it was in 2011 when only 6 models were on offer, it's only natural the market will grow and expand as the technology does.

The same spokesperson said “We do expect this trend to continue in the future as a number of models increases,” he added. “Infrastructure is being well-supported by government at the moment, and as long as that continues there’s no reason why the market for plug-in vehicles shouldn't grow even more in the coming months and years.”

The news is ringing true for manufactures too, with Nissan said it had notched up record sales of its all-electric Leaf during the month.

Obviously the volume of low emission vehicles on the road is minuscule compared to the whole market, but with government interest and swaying support from the public, this number is only going to continue to rise.