The road to electric - in charts and data

So what progress is the country making, in terms of drivers choosing electrified cars over those powered by petrol and diesel engines, and when it comes to places to charge electric cars? And what do drivers say is holding them back from opting for an electric car next time they change their vehicle?

Use this helpful guide from the RAC to track the progress the UK is making as we head towards 2035, with easy-read charts and graphics to help you make sense of the numbers.

And don't forget - the RAC was the first breakdown assistance company to develop a mobile electric vehicle charger system, EV Boost, capable of giving stranded out-of-charge vehicles a boost from a standard orange RAC patrol van. Find out more about the breakdown services we offer drivers of electric and hybrid cars.

There are a number of different types of electric car available at the moment, and that explains why there are so many acronyms. Use our guide to electric cars to find out which is which, but in short:

• Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) are powered solely by an electric motor/battery, and charged from an external source of electric power. These cars have no tailpipe, and therefore no emissions
• Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs) are equipped with both a petrol or diesel engine, as well as a battery that can be charged up by plugging in. These vehicles can be driven from either power source, and only 'zero emissions' when driven in electric-only mode. They are joined by Range-Extended Electric Vehicles (RE-EVs), which use engines or fuel cells to charge up the batteries
• Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs) are similar to PHEVs, but the electric motor/battery is smaller and charged by braking/cruising - it can't be plugged in and charged. They're sometimes referred to as 'self-charging hybrids' for this reason. These cars have very limited 'zero emissions' electric-only modes

In addition there are also Mild Hybrid Electric Vehicles (MHEV) which are powered by petrol and diesel engines and assisted by a secondary electric battery. But importantly, these cars cannot be driven in a zero-emissions mode.

We estimate there are around 1.1m zero-emission Battery Electric Vehicles (cars) on the UK's roads, as shown on the chart below, along with around 680,000 plug-in hybrids.

The following chart shows how the mix of electrified vehicles sold in the UK varies - with Battery Electric Vehicles sold in ever-increasing quantities, although growth has slowed more recently:

Electric vehicles have accounted for a relatively small proportion of new car registrations in the past, but things are changing quickly - indeed 2020, which saw low volumes of new cars on the roads as a result of COVID-19, saw a greater proportion of new electrified vehicles on the roads than ever before:

As of 2024, there is a legal requirement on vehicle manufacturers to sell a certain proportion of new pure electric cars - beginning with 22% of all new sales in 2024. This proportion increases in the run-up to 2035 as the chart below shows. Any car makers that aren’t able to meet these quotas face fines per car sold that isn’t compliant.

The number of places to charge an electric car is growing rapidly - and of course people lucky enough to have off-street parking (be this at home or at a workplace) can also have private charge points fitted to give them more places to top up. Our in-depth charging guide helps explain.

The power output of a charger - measured in kilowatts (kW) - dictates how fast it can charge an electric car. Some cars also have limits for how quickly they can be charged. Slower ('non-rapid) chargers are normally those located in places where people are likely to leave their cars for extended periods. Rapid and ultra-rapid chargers can charge electric cars much more quickly, some in a matter of minutes.

The first chart below shows the current number of charging devices (physical units). Each device may or may not have more than one connector, allowing several cars to be charged at the same time. The second chart shows the potential competition for each rapid or ultra-rapid charger.

As of May 2024, the average range of a new Battery Electric Vehicle is 236 miles according to the SMMT. So while BEVs don't (yet) offer the 500+ mile range offered by some petrol and diesel cars, with the average car trip being under 10 miles a BEV can still make a sensible choice of car for many people. Read our guide to electric car range.

The RAC was the first motoring organisation to start tracking the cost of charging electric cars, via RAC Charge Watch.

The RAC is leading the way when it comes to supporting drivers in the switch to electric vehicles.

An ever-increasing number of our patrol vans have built-in emergency mobile charging systems capable of giving an out-of-charge electric car enough power to be driven a short distance home or to a working chargepoint, while our All-Wheels-Up recovery system allows our patrols to safely rescue electric cars with no need for a flatbed.

Find out more about the RAC’s electric car breakdown cover.

EVs offer lots of benefits, including lower running costs, a relaxed driving experience and less local pollution – but they are hardly a new idea. 

Read on to find out more about the wonderful world of electric vehicles.

You may think the buzz around EVs is a recent phenomenon. In fact, electric cars were driving silently around our streets as far back as 1837. However, in these early days, non-rechargeable batteries hampered their practicality.

Rechargeable batteries arrived around 1881, and it was thought the UK would take up EVs soon afterwards, when the London Electrical Cab Company unveiled the Bersey taxi. Sadly, it was expensive to run and unreliable, damaging its reputation and torpedoing any chance of success.

Development of EVs continued over the following decades, but it wasn’t until the launch of the Tesla Model S in 2012 when the world once again began to take EVs seriously.

The Nissan LEAF was the world’s first ‘mass market’ EV.

The Nissan LEAF holds the honour of being the first ‘mass market’ electric car. Launched in 2010, within a decade there were more than 500,000 examples of Nissan’s electric hatchback on the world’s roads, with over 180,000 of those registered in Europe. 

The LEAF was the first EV to pass the 400,000 registrations milestone and Nissan also reports that, up to the end of December 2020, all those LEAFs contributed to 2.5 million fewer tonnes of CO2 entering the environment.

Read our review of the Nissan LEAF. 

• 2030 ban – is it worth buying an electric car now?
• The road to electric – in charts and data
• Types of electric vehicles – EVs explained
• Are electric cars really better for the environment?
• Breakdown cover for electric and hybrid cars 

Unlike most petrol or diesel vehicles, electric cars are packed with innovative technology to save precious energy and help you go further. Regenerative braking systems help recover kinetic energy under deceleration, sending it back to charge the car’s battery, and potentially boosting range.

EVs can also be pre-conditioned, which helps to preserve range. This is done by pre-heating or pre-cooling the car’s interior before any journey begins. Usually accessed by a smartphone app connected to the car or by the on-board infotainment system, the car’s driving range will not only be maximised, but its battery life could be lengthened as well. If the car is plugged in and charging, it takes power from the mains supply – so there is no impact on the range available.

Read our guide on electric car range and how far you can drive in an EV.

Not only do EVs have on-board technology to save range, but they can also feed power back into the electricity grid to potentially earn you money. Using Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) charging, an EV can feed electricity back into the power grid. This can cut costs for EV drivers and fleet companies as they can charge their electric cars using cheaper energy. 

When an EV uses V2G technology, electricity flows in both directions, to and from its battery. The energy that is stored in the battery can be sold back to the grid later when demand for power is high. If the EV is charged when energy demand is lower, or the level of generation by renewable sources is high, V2G can also help reduce carbon emissions. Nissan has helped pioneer the technology in the UK.