<P> The adoption of plug - in electric vehicles in the United Kingdom is actively supported by the British government through the plug - in car and van grants schemes and other incentives . More than 137,000 light - duty plug - in electric vehicles had been registered in the UK as at December 2017 . As of December 2016, the British plug - in fleet was the fourth largest in Europe . The stock of plug - ins includes about 5,100 plug - in commercial vans . These figures include a significant number of registered plug - in electric cars and vans which were not eligible for the grant schemes . The UK ranked in 2016 as the second best - selling European market after Norway, with almost 37,000 plug - in cars registered . </P> <P> There was a surge of plug - in car sales in Britain during 2014 and the following years: total registrations were 3,586 in 2013, but 36,907 plug - in electric cars were registered in 2016, 1.37% of total UK new car registrations . Plug - in car sales in March 2017 achieved the best monthly plug - in registration volume on record ever with over 8,000 units, and registrations during the first quarter of 2017 achieved a record 1.47% market share of new car sales during this quarter . </P>

How many electric cars are there in the uk