More motorists make the switch to electric as sales rise by almost half

More drivers in South Tyneside are getting switched on to electric cars, new figures show.

- by Gazette Reporter

Figures from the Department for Transport (DfT) show there were 2,353 ultra low emission vehicles (ULEVs) registered in the borough at the end of June - a 45% increase on the 1,626 a year earlier.

Of those, 1,579 were battery EVs, 10 were plugin hybrid EVs powered by diesel, 694 were plugin hybrid EVs powered by petrol and 70 relied on other fuel types.

Nationally, the number of ULEVs increased about 34% in a year to 2.5 million - up from almost 1.85 million in June 2024 and meaning that around 5.8% of the 42 million vehicles registered in the country are now ULEVs.

However, there were big regional variations.

While the North East registered a 49% rise in ULEVs - reaching a total of 49,914 - the figure only increased by 23% in the South West, bringing the total in the area to 283,336.