The uptake of plug-in cars have reached a record high in the UK with more than 115 electric cars registered every day during the first quarter of 2016. In total, 10,496 plug-in cars hit UK roads during the first three months of the year with one plug-in car sold every thirteen minutes, representing the best period of electric car sales since the Plug-in Car Grant was introduced in January 2011.

Analysis by industry body Go Ultra Low and latest registration figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) show plug-in car sales this year are ahead of schedule to exceed 2015’s record total – when more plug-in cars were registered than the previous five years combined. In addition, this first quarter success represents a 23 per cent improvement on the same point last year, when a huge 386 per cent year-on-year rise in registrations was recorded.

The total number of vehicles registered using the Plug-In Car Grant has now surpassed 58,000, nearly triple the number that were registered at the start of last year.

Transport Minister Andrew Jones, said: “These record figures show that hundreds of people every week are coming round to the fact that plug-in cars are cleaner, greener and cheaper to run. The UK is a world leader in the uptake of low emission vehicles and our long-term economic plan is investing £600 million by 2020 to improve air quality, create jobs and achieve our goal of every new car and van in the UK being ultra-low emission by 2040.”

In addition to surging quarterly growth, March also delivered the strongest-ever monthly sales figures, with 7,144 new electric cars hitting UK roads. The monthly total exceeds the previous high of 6,104, recorded exactly a year ago in March 2015.

Poppy Welch, Head of Go Ultra Low, said: “This continued and steep growth in uptake of plug-in cars is testament to how electric vehicles are becoming a natural choice for increasing numbers of new car buyers. With low running costs, tax exemptions and free parking in many locations, many more motorists should be considering a plug-in vehicle as their next car. As registrations records continue to be set and the rate of EV growth carries on, it’s no longer a question of will more motorists choose electric, but when.”

Over the past twelve months, the UK ranks as the biggest major market in the EU and second only to the Netherlands in total EV registrations, with 28,715 new plug-in cars representing one fifth of the European Union’s collective EV sales.