Electric vehicles power rise in UK car sales despite weak outlook

A Volvo XC60 car plugged into a charging point outside a dealership. SMMT said sales of hybrids rose by 40.6% year on year in January. Photograph: Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images

Sales of electric vehicles fuelled the strongest start to the year for the UK car market since before the coronavirus pandemic, although the forecast for annual sales has been cut as increasingly cash-strapped consumers delay big-ticket purchases.

Almost 132,000 new cars were sold in the UK in January, up 14% year on year and a sixth consecutive month of growth. The figures mark the best start to the year since 149,279 new cars were sold in January 2020.