Tom Bailey
More than a quarter of all vehicles sold in 2023 by award-winning vehicle leasing company Silverstone Leasing were electric powered.
While most of the cars and vans sold by the Northampton-based firm were petrol, mild hybrid or self-charging hybrid, 28 per cent of all vehicles sold were electric vehicles, with 7.5 per cent plug in hybrid.
The most popular car sold this year by the leading broker remains the Hyundai Tucson (accounting for all fuel types) the same as the year before, followed closely by the electric Tesla Model Y, with petrol Golf and Vauxhall Corsa sharing third place.
Most of the Hyundai Tuscon vehicles bought were petrol, with hybrid just behind.
Though diesel cars continued to prove popular last year, diesel cars made up just 0.7 percent of the total cars sold. The prevalence of this reflects the fact there are fewer diesel cars on sale now than ever before.
Silverstone Leasing Account Manager Tom Bailey said: “I think these statistics provide a really interesting view of the year, indicate sales trends and give us a clue as to what to expect in 2024.
“The popularity of electric vehicles continues to be prevalent and we are proud to be able to offer a fantastic selection of sustainable options, including Tesla, Citroen, Hyundai and Mazda.”
Globally, in the last three months of 2023, Chinese brand BYD (Build Your Dreams) outsold Tesla for the first time, racking up sales of 526,000 to Tesla’s 484,500 for battery only vehicles.
Tom added: “Although the world’s most popular electric brand BYD is still very new to the UK, and so sits near the bottom of our list, we are expecting this to sell well this year. Despite its early entry to our market, it still outsold previous highfliers like Mercedes, Jaguar and Toyota. It is an exciting time for our industry.”
For more information on leasing a vehicle for personal or business use, contact Silverstone Leasing on 01604 978480 or visit www.silverstoneleasing.com.
