Electric cars accounted for over a quarter of new registrations last month, said the car makers’ body, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
The UK new car market remained stable in October as registrations rose 0.5% to reach 144,948 units, with petrol and diesel models declining.
Registrations by fleets declined slightly, falling -1.5%, but the decline was offset by a small increase in registrations by private buyers, up 2.0%. Business registrations rose by 32.7% although, as a very small volume portion of the market, this sector is always subject to volatility.
There are expectations that the Government will introduce a new pence-per-mile charge on top of the existing registrations for BEVs when the Budget is revealed at the end of this month and it could be an indication of future Government policy on vehicle taxation to offset the losses it has seen in the switch to EVs from petrol and diesel models. It may be worded to make it look like an environmental move to reduce emissions.
Electrified vehicles were the only powertrain technologies to record growth, largely driven by battery electric vehicle (BEV) uptake, registrations of which rose by 23.6%, equivalent to 7,028 additional units. As a result, BEVs took a 25.4% market share, the second highest recorded this year, although still short of the 28% target set by the ZEV Mandate.
Plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV) uptake rose 27.2% to account for 12.1% of the market, while hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) posted growth of 2.1% to claim a 13.3% share. Combined, electrified vehicles comprised the majority of new car registrations for the second consecutive month, with 50.8% of the market.
While October’s growth was more modest, year to date the overall BEV market is now up 28.9%, at 386,244 units – more than registered in the whole of 2024 – with two months still to go before the year ends. BEVs now account for 22.4% of all new sales, thanks to massive manufacturer investment and, more recently, government support through the Electric Car Grant.
The latest quarterly industry outlook anticipates the overall new car market for 2025 will top two million units (2.012 million) for the first time since pre-pandemic 2019, with BEVs expected to account for 23.3% of uptake. For 2026, the overall market is expected to reach 2.032 million units, a moderate improvement on the previous outlook, with the BEV outlook maintained at 28.2%. While this would represent exceptional progress, it would still fall short of mandated targets for 2026, which call for zero emission vehicles to comprise one in three new car registrations. The gap is set to widen in 2027, with BEV share anticipated to hit 32.2% against a 38% target.1
John Cassidy, Managing Director of Sales at Close Brothers Motor Finance, said, “Despite month-on-month figures being down due to last month’s predicted spike due to new plates, another year-on-year rise will spark further optimism within the industry.
“A combination of more competitive deals, a wider range of new car models and increasing consumer confidence are all contributing to more positive numbers, which will provide a boost to manufacturers.
