Market’s electric surge

The UK’s new-car market fell slightly in February with its 84,054 sales down one per cent from the same month a year ago, according to the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). 

It was the fifth consecutive month of decline and included a four per cent reduction in fleet registrations, which have driven previous market growth, to 52,541 units. 

Private registrations came in at 29,947 and were up by 4.6 per cent last month to increase their overall market share to 35.6 per cent, while the business sector rose by 3.3 per cent to 1,566 units.

Demand for electrified vehicles continues to grow, with plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) rising 19.3 per cent to 7,273 and hybrids up 7.9 per cent to 11,431. 

Battery electric vehicle (BEV) registrations jumped 41.7 per cent to 21,244 units in February, securing a 25.3 per cent market share compared with 17.7 per cent a year ago. 

The SMMT notes the sharp increase for BEVs compared with the rest of the market was unsurprising as tax changes in April will result in many EV models being subject to the vehicle excise duty expensive car supplement for the first time.

The Mini Cooper, pictured, was last month’s top-seller with 2,074 units, followed by Tesla’s Model 3 and model Y on 1,990 and 1,861 sales respectively. Volkswagen’s Golf and Tiguan completed the top five.