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Electric car sales continue to rise

Sales of alternatively fuelled vehicles (AFVs) reached a record market share of 4.4% in June with more than 10,700 hitting UK roads.

This figure represents a rise of 29% against the same period last year while, in total, over 60,000 new AFVs have joined Britain’s roads so far in 2017.

The overall used market for electric vehicles has also seen values increasing by some 7 percent this year, according to cap hpi motoring expert Chris Plumb, “Interestingly, it appears to be the range extender models which are driving the recent strong performance as values of pure electric vehicles have struggled of late. The BMW i3 is a popular choice and is a great second hand buy. It brings a good level of specification and badge prestige.”

The optional range extender can increase the BMW i3’s range in comfort Mode from up to 125 miles to a total of 206 miles, thanks to a small, rear-mounted, two-cylinder petrol engine which powers a generator that maintains the battery’s charge, so it can continue to drive in electric mode.

The Nissan LEAF with the 30KWh power train is attracting higher used values than the 24kWh as it has a longer range of up to 155 miles against 124 for the lower powered version.

Demand for Petrol Hybrid used vehicles remains high. Used values bucked market trends in June and prices strengthened overall, moving up by an average of 0.2% at three years 60,000 miles. 

Certain derivatives performed particularly well such as the Toyota Prius (12-17) Plug-In which increased by 3.9% and the Lexus RX (12-16) Hybrid which saw values rise by 2% as too did the Prius+ (12- ) Hybrid.