Record registrations for BEVs
New car sales in the UK rose one per cent in September to 275,239 units, up from 272,601 a year ago, according to the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
It was the market’s best September performance since 2020 but the total number of registrations was still 19.8 per cent below the 343,255 achieved pre-Covid in September 2019.
The latest growth was driven by fleet purchases, up 3.7 per cent year-on-year to 149,095 units and representing 54.2 per cent of the overall market.
Private consumer demand fell by 1.8 per cent to 120,272 units, accounting for 43.7 per cent of registrations, and volumes for the business sector dropped 8.4 per cent to 5,872 units.
Demand for battery electric vehicles (BEVs) grew 24.4 per cent to a monthly record of 56,387 units, which delivered a 20.5 per cent share of the overall market, up from 16.6 per cent a year ago.
Uptake of plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) increased faster than any other fuel type last month, rising 32.1 per cent to take an 8.9 per cent share of the market.
Hybrid registrations rose 2.6 per cent, boosting market share to 14.2 per cent, while petrol and diesel registrations declined by 9.3 per cent and 7.1 per cent respectively, although together they were the choice of 56.4 per cent of buyers in September.
The top three models last month were Kia’s Sportage, pictured, with 7,482 sales followed by the Ford Puma on 6,681 and the Nissan Juke with 6,025.
Year-to-date, the Puma is out front on 38,944 units. Next up is the Sportage with 37,582 and Nissan’s Qashqai on 32,923.
Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, says the record number of monthly BEV sales is good news but concerns remain the market is not growing quickly enough to meet government-mandated targets for the numbers of low and zero-emissions models in the fleet.
“Despite manufacturers spending billions on both product and market support – support that the industry cannot sustain indefinitely – market weakness is putting environmental ambitions at risk and jeopardising future investment,” he adds.
The SMMT and 12 vehicle manufacturers have written to the UK government calling for measures to support consumers and help speed up the pace of the EV transition.
