In January, February and March of this year, 366 electric HGVs were registered in the UK. This is up from the 68 that were registered in the same period a year before, and represents a rise of 438.2%.
When it comes to light goods vehicles, 4,635 were registered in Q1 2023, up 2.2% on the equivalent Q1 2022 figure.
As for how much of a share electric vehicles have of the total registrations, the numbers remain low.
Electric vehicles constituted 5.2% of total registrations in Q1 2023, while electric-powered trucks only made up just under 3% of all HGV registrations.
The release of the registration data came less than a week after the Road Haulage Association published a piece regarding the difficult journey to zero-emission to road transport.
“Electric lorries don’t have the range, their batteries are large, and the charging time is several hours. In addition, unlike cars, a lorry is out on the road for a much greater length of time than a car. Many lorries can be out 24/7, with the power demand needed to keep charged and moving much greater,” wrote the RHA on its website.
The association added:
“We need a supportive financial and regulatory framework to work towards a carbon zero future. Imposing punishing charges to incentivise change is a mistake. It hurts those least able to adapt the most, with low-margin industries like logistics passing those costs on to customers, potentially fuelling inflation. Instead, we need greater government investment and tax-breaks.”
