The first quarter of 2017 saw the highest number of new car registrations ever recorded in Great Britain at 959,000 and saw a major leap in the number of ultra-low emission vehicles.
The number of ultra-low emission vehicle registrations passed 100,000 for the first time and now stands at 108,641, the new figures from the Department for Transport have revealed.
The Ford Fiesta was the most popular car at 38,000, followed by the Ford Focus 24,000 and the Vauxhall Corsa 21,000. Of the newly registered cars 52.2% were petrol and 43.7% diesel.
There are now 37.5 million vehicles licensed for use in Britian.
Over 13,800 new ultra low emission vehicles (ULEVs) were registered in the UK between January and March, an increase of 17% on the same period in 2016.
And in the year to March 2017, 43,819 new ultra low emission vehicles (ULEVs) were registered for the first time in the UK, an increase of 34% on one year before and 91% on two years previously.
Transport secretary Chris Grayling said: 'Electric vehicles are cheaper to run, we are offering car drivers grants worth up to £4,500 off the price of new low emission cars and more chargepoints are being rolled out across the country.
'I am determined to improve Britain’s air quality which is why we have pledged £600m to support the uptake of ultra-low emission vehicles.'
Ultra-low emission vehicles are those with emissions of CO2 below 75 g/km, or fully electrically powered. The Government is offering a plug in car grant worth up to £4,500 off the price of an electric vehicle, £8,000 off the price of an electric van and up to £1,500 off the price of an electric motorbike.
The breakdown of the 108,641 ULEVs now registered in the UK is:
Plug in Cars 92,414
Plug in Vans 3,358
Quadricycles 634
Non Plug in Cars 4,497
Non plug in vans 2,504
Others 5,234
Total 108,641
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