Electric cars by area
Electric cars in Belfast
1,980 of the 122,092 privately kept cars licensed in Belfast at the end of June 2026 were battery electric, 1.6%, against 3.1% across the UK (DfT and DVLA licensing statistics). With 1,272 plug-in hybrids, 2.7% of private cars plug in. That ranks Belfast 350 of 359 local authorities and 4 of 11 in Northern Ireland.
Data to 2026-06-30 · Page updated 2026-09-29 · Publisher: 73 Auto
- Battery electric
- 1.6%
- 0.52× the UK share, private cars
- Plug-in (incl. hybrids)
- 2.7%
- UK 5.1%
- Five years earlier
- 0.2%
- +1.4 pts since June 2020
How Belfast compares
Belfast's battery-electric share is in the bottom quarter of the 359 areas ranked here, and above Northern Ireland (1.4%). The number of privately kept battery electric cars rose 41% in a year, taking the share from 1.2% to 1.6%.
Another 30,942 company-kept cars are registered here, 26.0% of them battery electric. That is more electric cars than private keepers own, a sign that leasing or fleet companies are registered in Belfast: company cars are recorded at the keeper's address, not where they are driven, so they are left out of the figures above.
Electric cars in Belfast, year by year
| Quarter end | Private cars | Battery electric | Share | All plug-ins |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2026 | 122,092 | 1,980 | 1.6% | 2.7% |
| June 2025 | 120,130 | 1,401 | 1.2% | 1.9% |
| June 2024 | 118,048 | 937 | 0.8% | 1.3% |
| June 2023 | 117,870 | 656 | 0.6% | 0.9% |
| June 2022 | 117,226 | 424 | 0.4% | 0.7% |
| June 2021 | 117,554 | 246 | 0.2% | 0.4% |
| June 2020 | 113,988 | 154 | 0.1% | 0.2% |
Electric cars across Northern Ireland
| Area | Private cars | Battery electric | Plug-in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lisburn and Castlereagh | 82,984 | 2.1% | 3.4% |
| Ards and North Down | 92,331 | 2.1% | 3.2% |
| Antrim and Newtownabbey | 77,420 | 1.9% | 2.9% |
| Belfast | 122,092 | 1.6% | 2.7% |
| Mid and East Antrim | 76,670 | 1.5% | 2.2% |
| Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon | 119,528 | 1.2% | 2.0% |
| Newry, Mourne and Down | 98,803 | 1.1% | 1.8% |
| Causeway Coast and Glens | 76,557 | 1.0% | 1.6% |
| Derry City and Strabane | 74,856 | 0.8% | 1.6% |
| Mid Ulster | 81,912 | 0.8% | 1.3% |
| Fermanagh and Omagh | 66,839 | 0.7% | 1.3% |
Areas ranked either side
| Rank | Area | Battery electric |
|---|---|---|
| 347 | Leicester | 1.7% |
| 348 | Merthyr Tydfil | 1.7% |
| 349 | Shetland Islands | 1.7% |
| 351 | Blaenau Gwent | 1.5% |
| 352 | Mid and East Antrim | 1.5% |
| 353 | Na h-Eileanan Siar | 1.3% |
Limitations
Counts are cars licensed (taxed or tax-exempt) at the end of the quarter, by the keeper's registered address. Battery electric excludes plug-in hybrids and range-extended cars, which are counted under plug-ins. Company-kept cars are shown separately because they are registered where the company is, not where they are driven.
Weighing up an electric car in Belfast?
Enter a registration to see that car's real running costs, tax and MOT history, electric or not. Your first check is free and shows the vehicle summary and its headline ownership cost. The category-by-category breakdown is part of a paid check.
UK number plate or 17-character VIN
Where these figures come from
- Vehicle licensing statistics tables VEH0142 (plug-in cars) and VEH0105 (all cars) by local authority — Department for Transport and DVLA. Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Shares, ranks, changes and regional comparisons (73 Auto analysis of the DfT tables) — 73 Auto. Derived figures.
Figures labelled as 73 Auto estimates are our own analysis of these sources, set out in the methodology and data sources. To report a factual error, see corrections.