Electric cars hit record sales in UK

The UK's electric car market has recorded its strongest figures since the introduction of the plug-in grant in 2011, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.

A total of 10,496 electric cars were sold in Britain during the first three months of 2016 - one every 13 minutes, the International Business Times proclaims - despite the government subsidiary dropping from £5,000 to £4,500.

The drop came into force at the beginning of March, but did not deter consumers. The month was the strongest ever for plug-in sales, with 7,144 cars sold – up from 6,104 from last year.

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According to Autocar, the sales jump isn't so surprising. March and September are typically popular because buyers want the new registration plates introduced in these months.

Autoblog says the figures show the UK has a "pretty impressive" electric car market, especially compared to many other western nations.

The site points out that in the first quarter of 2016, there were 17,000 electric car sales in the United States, a country with about five times as many residents.

In the EU, the UK is second to the Netherlands for electric vehicle cars and while other European countries saw demand grow significantly in 2015, the picture appears to be far more mixed in 2016.

Last year, the UK committed to making sure all new cars sold by 2040 are "ultra-low emissions" vehicles. While the market continues to grow, electric cars are still dwarfed in comparison to conventional vehicles, with more than half a million petrol and diesel registrations in March alone.