Most Popular Electric Cars 2023
Considering buying an electric car, but not sure which one? It can help to understand which electric cars other British motorists are buying right now. To find out which EVs are most popular in the UK, we've dug into registration figures from the Department for Transport. Here's what we found.
Most Popular EVs in the UK
The Tesla Model 3 is the most popular electric vehicle in the UK. During 2021 (the latest available data as of writing), there were 34,786 new Tesla Model 3 cars registered for the first time.
This is nearly 3X more vehicles than the second-most popular EV, the Kia e-Niro, of which there were 12,270 new cars registered in 2021. The Volkswagen ID.3 is the third most popular (10,984 new registrations) followed by the Nissan Leaf (9,069 vehicles).
| UK's Most Popular EVs | Number of cars registered for the first time in 2021 |
|---|---|
| TESLA MODEL 3 | 34,786 |
| KIA NIRO | 12,270 |
| VOLKSWAGEN ID3 | 10,984 |
| NISSAN LEAF | 9,069 |
| AUDI E-TRON | 7,904 |
| HYUNDAI KONA | 7,197 |
| MINI COOPER | 6,579 |
| RENAULT ZOE | 5,750 |
| VAUXHALL CORSA | 5,607 |
| HYUNDAI IONIQ | 5,401 |
| MG ZS | 5,379 |
| JAGUAR I-PACE | 5,204 |
| MERCEDES EQA CLASS | 5,109 |
| MG 5 | 5,073 |
| PEUGEOT 2008 | 4,757 |
| VOLKSWAGEN ID4 | 4,486 |
| PEUGEOT 208 | 4,319 |
| MERCEDES EQC CLASS | 4,250 |
| POLESTAR 2 | 4,094 |
| PORSCHE TAYCAN | 4,018 |
| AUDI Q4 | 3,858 |
| BMW I3 | 3,597 |
| SKODA ENYAQ | 3,251 |
| BMW IX3 | 3,072 |
| FORD MUSTANG MACH-E | 2,741 |
| VAUXHALL MOKKA | 2,668 |
| FIAT 500 | 2,631 |
| MAZDA MX-30 | 2,042 |
| VOLVO XC40 | 1,798 |
| VOLKSWAGEN UP | 1,383 |
Interestingly, the most popular EV used to be the Mitsubishi Outlander, but despite this success, Mitsubishi stopped selling cars in the UK!
To learn about the cost to insure these different vehicles, read our article on the Cost of Car Insurance for Electric Cars.
Most Popular Tesla Model 3
Which Tesla Model 3 trims are most popular? Here are new registration figures of the three different Tesla Model 3 trim levels that were available in 2021.
| Make | Model & Trim | 2021 UK Registrations |
|---|---|---|
| Tesla | MODEL 3 LONG RANGE AWD | 22,820 |
| Tesla | MODEL 3 STANDARD RANGE + | 9,387 |
| Tesla | MODEL 3 PERFORMANCE AWD | 2,579 |
Most Popular Kia e-Niro
Which Kia e-Niro trims are most popular? Here are the numbers of the different Kia e-Niro trim levels that were first registered in the UK in 2021.
| Make | Model & Trim | 2021 UK Registrations |
|---|---|---|
| KIA | NIRO 4 EV | 6,583 |
| KIA | NIRO 3 EV | 3,477 |
| KIA | NIRO 2 EV | 2,080 |
| KIA | NIRO 4+ EV | 129 |
| KIA | NIRO FIRST EDITION EV | 1 |
Most Popular Volkswagen ID.3
Which Volkswagen ID.3 trims are most popular? Here are the numbers of the different Volkswagen ID.3 trim levels that were registered in the UK in 2021 for the first time.
| Make | Model & Trim | 2021 UK Registrations |
|---|---|---|
| Volkswagen | ID3 LIFE | 5,763 |
| Volkswagen | ID3 FAMILY | 2,162 |
| Volkswagen | ID3 TOUR | 954 |
| Volkswagen | ID3 TECH | 525 |
| Volkswagen | ID3 STYLE | 520 |
| Volkswagen | ID3 MAX | 504 |
| Volkswagen | ID3 BUSINESS | 421 |
| Volkswagen | ID3 CITY | 117 |
Most Popular Nissan Leaf
Which Nissan Leaf trims are most popular? Here are the numbers of the different Nissan Leaf trim levels that were first registered in the UK in 2021.
| Make | Model & Trim | 2021 UK Registrations |
|---|---|---|
| NISSAN | LEAF TEKNA | 2,256 |
| NISSAN | LEAF N-CONNECTA | 1,983 |
| NISSAN | LEAF E + TEKNA | 1,670 |
| NISSAN | LEAF ACENTA | 1,560 |
| NISSAN | LEAF E + N-CONNECTA | 1,139 |
| NISSAN | LEAF 10 | 399 |
| NISSAN | LEAF E + N-TEC | 40 |
| NISSAN | LEAF | 18 |
| NISSAN | LEAF E + 3.ZERO | 4 |
Most Popular Audi e-Tron
Which Audi e-Tron trims are most popular? Here are the numbers of the different Audi e-Tron trim levels that were registered in the UK in 2021 for the first time.
| Make | Model & Trim | 2021 UK Registrations |
|---|---|---|
| AUDI | E-TRON TECHNIK 50 QUATTRO | 2,082 |
| AUDI | E-TRON S LINE 55 QUATTRO | 1,448 |
| AUDI | E-TRON TECHNIK 55 QUATTRO | 816 |
| AUDI | E-TRON BLACK EDITION 55 QUAT | 691 |
| AUDI | E-TRON S LINE 50 QUATTRO | 533 |
| AUDI | E-TRON BLACK EDITION 50 QUAT | 506 |
| AUDI | E-TRON SPORT 50 QUATTRO | 303 |
| AUDI | E-TRON S QUATTRO | 269 |
| AUDI | E-TRON VORSPRUNG 55 QUATTRO | 241 |
| AUDI | E-TRON GT QUATTRO | 238 |
| AUDI | E-TRON LAUNCH ED 55 QUAT | 234 |
| AUDI | E-TRON SPORT 55 QUATTRO | 89 |
| AUDI | E-TRON GT VORSPRUNG QUATTRO | 84 |
| AUDI | E-TRON VORSPRUNG 50 QUATTRO | 71 |
| AUDI | E-TRON LAUNCH EDITION 50 QUAT | 48 |
| AUDI | E-TRON 55 QUATTRO | 31 |
| AUDI | E-TRON S VORSPRUNG QUATTRO | 22 |
| AUDI | E-TRON EDITION 1 55 QUATTRO | 13 |