The market for electric vehicles is growing rapidly. Even after the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, there are now over 365,000 pure EV’s currently on roads in the UK. According to INSIDEEVs, 190,727 battery electric vehicles (BEVs) were sold in the UK in 2021, which is ‘up 76.3% year-over-year’ with a ‘market share of 11.6%.’
Clearly the demand for electric cars has never been higher, and it will only continue to rise with the introduction of new innovations, and greater charging infrastructure. On 10th January 2022, Zap-Map published that there are currently 18,111 charging points installed here in the UK.
The UK electric vehicle market is expected to accelerate even faster over the next few years, after the introduction of the government’s plan to ban all new fuelled vehicles in 2030. According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, BEVs account for one in nine of all UK vehicles. Although petrol vehicles are still the most popular choice, it is evident that EV’s are set to skyrocket in sales and popularity over the coming years, as drivers make the switch to cleaner plug-in vehicles.
Which EV make and models are the most popular in the UK according to search statistics?
In order to uncover the most popular EV brands in the UK, we conducted extensive research from data focused on EV registrations in the UK from the second quarter of 2020 and 2021, as well as the volume of monthly UK Google searches for the most popular electric cars.
The table provided on the left shows the most popular electric vehicle, with the highest number of searches in the second quarter of 2021 as Tesla’s Model 3. You can view our range of Tesla charging cables here. According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, Tesla sold 34,783 Model 3 BEV’s in the UK in 2021, making this model a clear favourite.
Breakdown of EV’s most searched for in the UK in 2021
According to search statistics from Google UK, there were a total of 864,300 searches for the most popular brands, which you can see in the table below – organised into each make and model.
Tesla’s Model 3 was favoured in UK Google searches by more than 100% compared to its closest competitor the Porsche Taycan, closely followed by Tesla’s Model X, and the Nissan Leaf coming in fourth position.
Breakdown of EV’s most searched for in the UK in 2020
To compare, below is the data that we collected from the second quarter of 2020. Listing the same popular makes and models, based on search statistics from 2020, there were a total of 717,100 searches for the electric vehicles listed in the table below.
How did electric car Google searches compare between 2020-2021?
As you can see from the above data, Tesla’s Model 3 was still a strong favourite in 2020, as searches increased by 19% with a variance of 30,000 extra searches in 2021.
However, in 2021 UK searches for Tesla’s Model X seem to have dropped by 19% with 21,000 less searches, compared to the previous year.
The most notable increases over the period of 2020-2021 were the Skoda Enyaq, which surged by an impressive 50,000 more searches, resulting in a climb of 714%. This was followed by an increase of 31,000 searches conducted for BMW’s I4, leading to a rise of 443% in 2021. Volkswagen’s ID.3 received 13,000 more searches in 2021 – compared to 2020, rising by 325%.
In contrast, the most notable decreases in electric car Google searches in the UK were for the Renault Zoe, which fell by 52% losing 34,000 searches. This was closely followed by the Volkswagen e-golf falling by 50% and 900 searches, and Vauxhall’s Corsa E which fell by 5000 searches with a 45% decline, compared to the previous year.
Electric vehicle predictions for 2022
After analysing the above data from 2020-2021, we predict that 2022 might not be too different for Tesla’s vehicles. With a variety of new innovative models on the horizon, Tesla will most likely continue to be a popular choice for EV drivers in the UK.
However, with the addition of new models from other manufacturers, such as the Renault Megane eVision, and Volkswagen’s new ID3 Cabriolet, ID5, and ID Buzz, all set to arrive in the UK this year, Renault and Volkswagen could turn their former UK search history around. Here at EV Wired we will be stocking new EV charging cables upon release.
Are you curious to see what new EV’s are coming this year? Check out our list of new electric models coming in 2022 here. With a fantastic range of new makes and models coming this year, could 2022 be the year that changes everything in the electric car market? We would love to know your thoughts.