Tesla had record sales in the United Kingdom in 2021, and the new car registration data show that it helped the country reach a new electric market share milestone: over 10% of the auto market for the first time.
With car sales being down across the board since the pandemic, it’s giving EVs an opportunity to capture more market shares. Several markets have seen massive jumps in EV market shares in 2021.
We have seen several jumped over 10% market share, but those are mostly smaller markets, which is why it is impressive to see what is happening in the UK.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) released the December numbers, and the 2021 numbers. It showed that battery-electric vehicle market share went up from 6.6% to 11.6%:
For the first time in a long time, petrol-powered vehicle market share have dipped below 50% of the market. Tesla contributed the most to this milestone with the Model 3 being the best-selling EV in the market.
The electric sedan outsold the next three best-selling EVs combined:
34,783 units delivered in 2021 was also enough to make the Tesla Model 3 the second best-selling vehicle overall in the UK last year:
In Europe, several smaller markets have also achieved new records thanks to Tesla starting Model Y deliveries, but the UK didn’t have this advantage because the automaker has yet to produce a right-hand-drive version of the electric SUV.
Electrek’s Take
It’s a significant milestone for a major auto market like the UK to reach over 10% BEV market share.
We will probably not see that in North America until there is volume production of electric pickup trucks just because of how popular the segment is here, but we are still seeing the important market shift.
Once you are almost doubling market shares per year, things start to move fast.
I wouldn’t be surprised if we see the same thing happen in the UK again this year, especially with new EV models launching on the market, like the Model Y.
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