Electric vehicle demand surges 66% in Q3

Total leasing enquiries on new electric vehicles – incorporating battery electric vehicles (BEVs), electric plugin and electric hybrid vehicles – grew 66% in Q3 compared to Q2 of this year, according to new data from Leasing.com.

The huge overall growth in demand for new electric vehicles between July-September 2021 was the result of growth in the individual BEV, plugin and hybrid segments.

Those three electric vehicle segments recorded a combined sales enquiry market share on Leasing.com of nearly a third (32.1%) in Q3, up from under a quarter (22.9%) in Q2.

Demand for electric plugins grew by 43% in Q3 with consumers and businesses enquiring on the Cupra Formentor, Volvo XC40 and Seat Leon more than any other plugins on the car leasing comparison website.

Demand for electric hybrids grew 51% in Q3 compared to Q2, with the Toyota RAV4, Hyundai Tucson and Toyota C-HR the top three most popular hybrids on Leasing.com.

However, the strongest increase in demand was seen for BEVs with BEV leasing enquiries growing 87% in Q3 versus the previous quarter. BEV sales enquiries also surpassed diesel vehicles in Q3 as new car diesel demand continued its downward trend. The Volkswagen ID.3, Tesla Model 3 and the Hyundai Kona were the three most popular BEVs.

The growth in BEV adoption is echoed across the wider market with the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association reporting that electrified vehicles made up a third of EU vehicle sales with pure electric models seeing sales figures growing by 57% in Q3.

When contrasted against the earlier years of electric vehicles, sales are rising at such a rate manufacturer are seeing BEV models selling in record numbers almost as soon as they hit the market, something brands such as Hyundai, Lexus and Toyota experienced with the launch of their most recent models.

Paul Harrison, Head of Strategic Partnerships at Leasing.com, said: “Our latest data shows the rapid transition that the UK new car market is now making to net zero. Nearly a third of our total Q3 sales enquiries were for electric vehicles.

“Battery electric vehicles saw the fastest rate of growth and it continues to accelerate as motor manufacturers expand their offering. These figures underline the importance of the leasing sector to BEV adoption.”

Top 10 BEV manufacturers by enquiry volumes in Q3 2021:

• Volkswagen
• Hyundai
• Tesla
• Nissan
• KIA
• Lexus
• Renault
• Audi
• BMW
• Vauxhall