Last year 4,971 new registrations were made in the Island compared to 7,491 in 2015, with a steady drop being recorded each year.
In 2020, 332 new electric cars were registered, as well as 346 hybrid vehicles, which was the highest-ever number in each category.
By comparison, just 40 electric and 72 hybrid cars were imported in 2015.
Assistant Environment Minister Jess Perchard welcomed the trend but said that she would like to see an ‘exponential growth’ in the ownership of eco-friendly vehicles.
‘It’s encouraging to see that of the total number of vehicles added to the register this year, the proportion of electric and hybrid vehicles has risen from 1% to 13% over the last five years,’ she said.
‘Like my minister, I’d be keen to see this change in consumer behaviour and choice to continue to grow exponentially so that we are able to achieve our carbon-neutral aspirations by 2030.
‘It’s worth remembering that while these figures capture new vehicle registrations, we also need to focus on encouraging current vehicle owners to make the change to carbon-neutral modes of transport.’
She added that measures to encourage the use of electric and hybrid vehicles would be looked at by the department this year.
‘Fiscal measures to incentivise a switch to environmentally friendly modes of transport will be considered this year as part of the implementation of the Carbon Neutral Strategy,’ she said.
‘And I look forward to looking at what is proposed by members of the public during consultation and by the Citizens’ Assembly.’
