The growing appeal of alternative fuel vehicles was reflected in a 23.7% rise in UK registrations during the first quarter of 2016.

Responding the publication of Europe-wide figures which revealed a 6.4% overall rise in AFV sales in the region Sue Robinson, director of the National Franchised Dealers Association, said that she was “pleased to see that the UK is playing a key role in this segment of the market.”

AFVs have been continuously performing well since last year and totalled 154,795 units in the first quarter of 2016. 

Electric Vehicles (EVs) recorded the strongest rise of 26.8%, backed by the growth of battery (33.9%) as well as plug-in electric vehicles (23.5%). 

Spain saw the largest increase in AFV registrations over the last quarter (+51.9%), followed by France (+28.7%), the UK (+23.7%) and Germany (+13.0%), whilst Italy saw a decline (-12.9%).

Commenting on AFV registrations figures released by ACEA (European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association), Robinson added: “It is encouraging to see that the AFVs registrations in the UK saw a double digit growth recording one of the best performances amongst the largest European markets.

“In the first quarter of 2016 hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) totalled 15,075 registrations in the UK compared to 12,115 in the same period last year, while Electric Vehicles (EVs) rose to 10,639 from 8,670 in Q1 2015.

“Considering that AFVs sales seem set to continue to increase we are pleased to see that the UK is playing a key role in this segment of the market.”