More than 1,000 eco-friendly cars in the Chichester district as motorists go green

Hundreds of eco-friendly cars in district as motorists go green

More drivers in the Chichester district are going green, according to figures showing a surge in electric vehicle registrations.

Motorists turning their backs on petrol and diesel contributed to a 40 per cent national rise in the number of newly registered ultra-low emission vehicles last year.

The RAC said the rise proves an “electric revolution” is underway across the UK – but the Green Party says more needs to be done to ensure a switch to electric motoring is sustainable long-term.

Department for Transport data shows 1,117 ULEVs were licensed to addresses in the Chichester district as of September – a 57 per cent increase from 712 a year earlier.

Of those, 188 (17 per cent) were registered to companies based in the area, while 929 were privately owned.

The figures show 83,000 ULEVs made up 15 per cent of all new registrations nationally between July and September last year, when registrations of petrol and diesel cars fell 41 per cent and 66 per cent respectively.

Around 645,000 ULEVs were registered across the UK as of September – up from 373,000 the year before.