How many electric cars are there in the UK?
There are well over a million fully electric cars on UK roads, and battery-electric vehicles now account for roughly a fifth of new car registrations — a share that has risen every year since 2019. Add plug-in hybrids and the plug-in share of new registrations is higher again.
The practical consequence for a used buyer is supply. The 2020–2022 new-EV boom is now reaching the used market in volume, which is exactly why used EV prices have fallen faster than equivalent petrol cars. That makes this the cheapest entry point to electric motoring there has been — see used electric cars in stock.
Registration figures move every month; DVLA vehicle-licensing statistics and SMMT registration data are the authoritative sources for the current number.
Do electric cars pay road tax in the UK?
Yes — since April 2025. The exemption has ended.
Electric cars were exempt from Vehicle Excise Duty until 1 April 2025. From that date EVs pay VED like any other car: a lower first-year rate for new registrations, then the standard annual rate from the second year onwards.
- Existing EVs registered before April 2025 moved onto the standard annual rate rather than staying free.
- The expensive-car supplement now applies to EVs too — cars with a list price above £40,000 pay an additional surcharge for several years from the second licence.
- Company car tax remains the standout EV advantage. Benefit-in-kind rates on electric cars are still far below petrol and diesel equivalents, which is why salary-sacrifice EV schemes continue to grow.
Check exactly what any specific car costs to tax with our car tax checker.
When will electric cars be mandatory in the UK?
Never for cars you already own. The policy is about what manufacturers may sell new, not what you may drive. The sale of new pure petrol and diesel cars ends in 2030, with certain hybrids permitted until 2035, after which all new cars sold must be zero-emission at the tailpipe.
In the meantime the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate sets a rising minimum share of electric sales for each manufacturer every year, which is the mechanism actually driving EV availability and discounting today.
Petrol and diesel cars bought before those dates remain perfectly legal to own, drive, insure and sell for many years afterwards. The real deadline for most drivers is local: Clean Air Zone and ULEZ charges already apply to older non-compliant cars — check yours with the ULEZ and Clean Air Zone checker.
How much does it cost to charge an electric car in the UK?
Where you charge matters far more than what you drive.
Cost per mile is battery size × price per kWh ÷ range. The same car can be three or four times more expensive to run depending purely on where it is plugged in.
- Home, off-peak EV tariff — the cheapest by a distance. Overnight rates on dedicated EV tariffs are a fraction of the standard unit rate, and a typical 60kWh car costs a few pounds for a full charge.
- Home, standard tariff — still comfortably cheaper per mile than petrol for most cars.
- Public slow and destination charging — mid-priced, and often free at supermarkets and car parks.
- Public rapid and ultra-rapid — the most expensive, and can approach or exceed the per-mile cost of an efficient petrol car.
The rule of thumb: if you can charge at home overnight, an EV is markedly cheaper to run than petrol. If you would rely entirely on public rapid charging, run the numbers carefully first. Find and compare local chargers on our EV charger map, and compare against pump prices on fuel prices near you.
Frequently asked questions
The questions buyers ask us most on this topic.