UK electric car sales hit record high as taxpayer subsidies help attract buyers

The grants of up to £3,750 apply to about a quarter of battery cars on sale in the UK – including models from Citroën, Renault (pictured), Nissan and Vauxhall. Photograph: Benoît Tessier/Reuters

British electric car sales hit a record high in September as new taxpayer subsidies helped to attract buyers in the most important month for the market.

Battery EV sales rose by nearly a third in September compared with a year earlier, to 72,800, according to preliminary figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), a lobby group.