Leading American electric automaker Tesla has once again demonstrated its dominance as it topped the “Most Popular Electric Vehicle” list for the past five years without a miss in the UK, as per the annual registration data from 2019-present analyzed by comparison site Confused.com.
Methodology
The UK-based comparison site utilized the registration data from the Department for Transport and Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency’s vehicle licensing statistics data files to come up with the Rise of EVs report. It determined which electric vehicle models recorded the highest average registration growth each year in the past five years.
“Average annual registrations have been taken to show which electric vehicles are the mostpopular in the UK. Average annual registrations shows the average number of new EVs on UKroads each year over the last 5 years. Some EVs were released within the last 5 years, so theiraverages were taken since their release.”
Confused.com
It also analyzed data to determine which local authorities had the highest registration growth in ultra-low emission vehicles (ULEVs) in the same period. Apart from these, the team also used charging device data to determine the number of public charging units for every 100,000 residents in every local authority, among others.
Tesla Model Y and 3 outpaced all other rivals
As mentioned, Tesla took the first spot in the Most Popular Electric Vehicle ranking in 2019-present with its all-electric crossover Model Y. It had an average annual registrations of 22,561 units in the given timeline.
Unsurprisingly, its sibling, the Tesla Model 3, closely followed with average annual registrations of 21,773.
Germany’s Volkswagen ID. 3 trailed far behind with only 9,521 average annual registrations in the UK in the past five years.
The top five were competed by South Korea’s Kia Niro (8,177) and China’s MG 4 (8,149). Presented below are the full top 10 rankings:
| Rank | Model | 2019-2020 | 2020-2021 | 2021-2022 | 2022-2023 | Average Annual Registrations (since 2019 or release) |
| 1 | Tesla Model Y | 7,738 | 37,383 | 22,561 | ||
| 2 | Tesla Model 3 | 15,876 | 23,543 | 34,055 | 13,616 | 21,773 |
| 3 | Volkswagen ID.3 | 5,490 | 12,674 | 10,400 | 9,521 | |
| 4 | Kia Niro | 986 | 9,179 | 12,734 | 9,809 | 8,177 |
| 5 | MG 4 | 8,149 | 8,149 | |||
| 6 | Audi Q4 | 5,552 | 8,812 | 7,182 | ||
| 7 | Nissan Leaf | 5,525 | 7,013 | 8,019 | 6,643 | 6,800 |
| 8 | Audi e-tron | 1,718 | 6,522 | 7,391 | 6,008 | 5,410 |
| 9 | BMW iX3 | 4,180 | 4,617 | 6,154 | 5,386 | |
| 10 | Jaguar I-Pace | 7,601 | 5,285 | 4,027 | 5,273 |
Countries with the highest annual growth in EV sales
The report also indicated that the UK recorded an average annual growth of 91.2% in electric vehicle sales since 2017. However, it only ranked 12th in the global ranking (for countries with sales data).
Brazil dominated the ranking with an astounding average annual EV sales growth of 285.5%. Israel followed with 281.8%, while India recorded 183.4%. The top five were completed by Turkey (165.0%) and Greece (140.1%). Refer to the table below:
| Rank | Country | Average Annual Change in EV Sales Since 2017 |
| 1 | Brazil | 285.5% |
| 2 | Israel | 281.8% |
| 3 | India | 183.4% |
| 4 | Turkey | 165.0% |
| 5 | Greece | 140.1% |
| 6 | Mexico | 133.2% |
| 7 | Denmark | 127.0% |
| 8 | Australia | 120.7% |
| 9 | Italy | 109.2% |
| 10 | Poland | 103.7% |
In addition, the findings also revealed that Stockport witnessed the highest popularity of EVs and plug-in hybrids, with a remarkable average annual growth of 851.3%. As for the UK areas with the highest investment in home chargers, Buckinghamshire topped the list with a £2.14 million grand total.
Meanwhile, Westminster ranked first in the UK areas with the highest number of public charging stations per 100 people. It has one public charging station for every 95 people, followed by Southwark with 1 station/177 people.
Confused.com’s Rise of EVs report significantly highlighted Tesla’s unstoppable growth even beyond its home market. Tesla Model Y has proven its strong appeal to different customers across the world, enabling the brand to maintain its dominance in the global electric vehicle industry. You can access the full Rise of EVs report here.
