“It is reassuring to see that Alternative Fuel Vehicles (AFVs) registrations continued to grow in Europe by 6.4% compared to last year,” said Sue Robinson, Director of the National Franchised Dealers Association which represents commercial vehicle and franchised car retailers across the UK, commenting on AFV registrations figures released by ACEA (European Automobile Manufacturers' Association).
AFVs have been continuously performing well since last year and totalled 154,795 units in the first quarter of 2016. Electric Vehicles (EVs) recorded the strongest rise of 26.8%, backed by the growth of battery (33.9%) as well as plug-in electric vehicles (23.5%). Spain saw the largest increase in AFV registrations over the last quarter (+51.9%), followed by France (+28.7%), the UK (+23.7%) and Germany (+13.0%), whilst Italy saw a decline (-12.9%).
Robinson continued, “It is encouraging to see that the AFVs registrations in the UK saw a double digit growth recording one of the best performances amongst the largest European markets.
“In the first quarter of 2016 hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) totalled 15,075 registrations in the UK compared to 12,115 in the same period last year, while Electric Vehicles (EVs) rose to 10,639 from 8,670 in Q1 2015.
“Considering that AFVs sales seem set to continue to increase we are pleased to see that the UK is playing a key role in this segment of the market.”
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS:
Rupal Rawal, Press Officer Tel: 020 7307 3412 Mob: 07528 977 157 Press Office direct line: 020 7307 3422 Press Office fax: 020 7307 3406 Web: www.rmif.co.uk Email: rupal.rawal@rmif.co.uk
The Retail Motor Industry represents the interests of operators in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man providing sales and services to motorists and businesses. The RMI has a formal association with the independent Scottish Motor Trade Association which represents the retail motor industry in Scotland.