The UK new car market rose by 7.2% in February to 90,100 registrations, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), bringing the highest February volume in 22 years.
The month is conventionally lower volume, with many buyers preferring to wait for the March numberplate change.
Mike Hawes, CEO at SMMT, said: “The UK’s new car market is continuing to recover and EV volumes are growing too, even if market share remains disappointing. All eyes are now on ‘new plate’ March, which typically sets the tone for the year – and given sales of new pure petrol and diesel cars are currently required to end in less than four years, EV uptake must accelerate rapidly.
“Manufacturers have committed monumental investment to drive demand but such costs cannot be sustained indefinitely, making a review of the transition an urgent priority to ensure ambition matches natural demand.”
Demand was largely driven by recovering private retail registrations, up 17.6% to 35,227 units, while fleet uptake grew by 1.8% and the lower-volume business segment declined by -12.7%.
Fleets remained the largest source of new car registrations, accounting for 59.4% of the market.
Battery electric vehicle (BEV) uptake rose 2.8% to 21,840 units, representing 24.2% of the market.
February was, however, the second consecutive month of decline in BEV market share compared with the same period last year.
Plug-in hybrids attracted the largest growth in demand, up 43.5% to claim an 11.6% market share, while hybrid electric registrations rose 3.3% to a 13.1% share.
Petrol demand also grew, by 5.2% but share slipped to 46.5%, while diesel volumes continued to decline, down -3.8% to just 4.5% of the market.
With year-to-date BEV market share at 22.0%, two thirds of the 33% share mandated for 2026, March is set to be a pivotal month.
