- New automobile registrations rise 6.6% throughout usually largest market month of the yr.
- BEV volumes rise 24.2% to succeed in report excessive, however market share simply 22.6% – when mandated goal for the yr is 33%.
- Industry’s calls for pressing overview of the transition intensify as Iran disaster threatens client confidence.
The UK new automobile market grew by 6.6% in March, usually the busiest month of the yr, with 380,627 new autos registered, in response to the most recent figures printed by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). The efficiency marks the very best March – and finest month general – since 2019.1
Growth was pushed primarily by non-public demand, with retail registrations rising 10.1% to 162,470 items. Fleet registrations elevated 3.5% to 208,853 items, whereas the smaller enterprise sector grew 18.8% to 9,304 items.
March was additionally the very best month on report for electrified car volumes,2 accounting for 196,059 registrations, underlining the impression of producers’ funding in highway transport decarbonisation. Plug-in hybrid (PHEV) registrations rose 46.9% to take a 13.0% market share, whereas hybrid electrical autos (HEVs) elevated 7.3% to take 15.8% of the market. Battery electrical autos (BEVs) reached a new report, up 24.2%, to 86,120 registrations in the month. However, with a market share of solely 22.6% for the month, and 22.4% yr thus far, uptake is now even additional adrift of the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Mandate goal, which calls for 33% for 2026.
Despite rising EV volumes, circumstances have diverged sharply from these assumed when the mandate was set. At the beginning of 2026, battery prices had been greater than 30% greater than anticipated and industrial power costs round 80% above 2021 ranges, whereas public charging can price over 140% greater than 5 years in the past.3 Future prices and, due to this fact, demand are much more unsure given the Iran disaster, which can spark curiosity in EVs however dangers pushing up power and provide chain prices, rising the price of dwelling and undermining client confidence.
While authorities has acknowledged these pressures – and sought to help the market, most notably by means of the introduction of the Electric Car Grant – producers are nonetheless pressured to shoulder unsustainable prices to adjust to the regulation when pure demand lags ambition. Alongside billions invested in each the know-how and product to ship a alternative of greater than 160 EV fashions, producers are relying closely on discounting to stimulate demand.
Industry’s calls for a speedy overview of the transition have been given added urgency by geopolitical occasions. While different main worldwide markets are revising their transition plans to replicate geopolitical and market realities, delays to a overview of the UK transition will put the nation in an uncompetitive place, undermining client alternative, funding and, finally, the tempo of decarbonisation.
Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive
The strongest new automobile market since 2019, with the best ever quantity of EV registrations, is a lift to the trade and the financial system. However, the headlines belie the prices incurred and the challenges concerned. Much of March’s efficiency will probably be from orders positioned earlier than the beginning of the Iran battle, which threatens to boost the price of dwelling, undermining client confidence. Against this backdrop, and with the EV market falling additional away from mandated ranges regardless of report ranges of incentives, an pressing overview of the transition is required to safe a sustainable market, financial progress and the UK’s internet zero ambitions.
Notes to editors
- March 2019: 458,054 items
- Electrified autos outlined as battery electrical, plug-in hybrid and hybrid electrical, excluding delicate hybrid petrol and diesel automobiles
- SMMT, Same Destination, Smarter Route, March 2026
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