The British car market has grown by 24% to reach 149,247 registrations last month, figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) have found. The increase “reflects a rebound from an unusually weak April last year,” the organisation said, when buyers pulled purchases forward to March to beat incoming tax increases. These include the application of VED and the Expensive Car Supplement (ECS) on electric vehicles (EVs).
April remains a “traditionally low volume month” it said, but added that this was “the best outrun” since 2019 with 161,064 units.
All sectors recorded growth, led by fleets which grew by 26.8% to 90,462 registrations. Private retail deliveries grew 20.2% to 56,116 registrations, while the smaller business sector rose 15% to 2,669 units.
While demand for diesel fell by 1%, demand for petrol cars rose 8.2%. Electrified cars accounted for 53.2% of the market for the second month this year. Plug-in hybrids (PHEV) rose 46.4%, taking a 13.8% market share, while hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) increased by 18.8%, accounting for 13.2% of new registrations.
But a “market milestone,” according to the SMMT, was reached as April saw Britain’s two millionth EV sold following bumper growth of 59.1% compared to last year. As a result, EVs accounted for “a robust” 26.2% share of registrations for the month, an “impressive performance albeit in a typically low volume month,” the SMMT said. That said, it still falls short of the 33% target by the Zero Emissions Vehicle Mandate, despite manufacturer discounts and the return of the Electric Car Grant.
Looking ahead, the 2027 UK car market is expected to reach 2.121 million units, with 32% of them being EVs, according to the SMMT.
“Energy, production and charging costs remain high and, as a result, demand has not grown as fast as assumed when the regulation was formulated,” it said. “The Iran conflict adds further uncertainty, the full impact of which is yet to be seen, with rising interest in EVs potentially tempered by concern over inflation, higher energy prices and the resultant negative impact on the cost of living.
“Other major international markets are revising their transition plans to reflect geopolitical and market realities. The UK similarly needs an urgent review of the transition to avoid being put in an uncompetitive position, undermining consumer choice, investment and growth.”
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