MALDON drivers are going green as new figures number of electric vehicles registered in the area has surged.

Department for Transport statistics show 273 ultra-low emission vehicles, or ULEVs, were licensed in Maldon at the end of last year – 89 more than at the end of 2019, when there were 184.

Of the additions, 69 were registered to private keepers, while 20 were to the addresses of local firms.

The figures include battery electric, plug-in hybrid electric, and fuel cell electric vehicles.

In Maldon, 148 of the ULEVs licensed at the end of the year were battery electric vehicles – defined as zero emission.

A further 113 were plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, which combine an electric motor with a petrol or diesel engine.

Overall, ULEVs still only accounted for around 0.5 per cent of all vehicles licensed in Maldon at the end of 2020 – below the UK average of 1.1 per cent.

A ULEV is defined as a vehicle with reported tailpipe CO2 emissions of fewer than 75 grams per kilometre, which means not all of them would meet this new requirement.

The Government has committed to ending the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030.

Transport Minister Rachel Maclean said that more alternative fuel cars were registered across Great Britain for the first time last year, although this includes some types of hybrid vehicles not classed as ULEVs.

“This is proof that more people are moving away from diesel cars, as we build back greener and clean up the air in our towns and cities,” she added.

“With £2.8 billion of government support to encourage their take-up, there has never been a better time to switch to an electric vehicle.”