The UK new car market grew by 24% to reach 149,247 registrations in April. The increase reflects a rebound from a weak April last year, when buyers pulled purchases forward to March to beat incoming vehicle tax increases.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) which released the data, said while April remains a traditionally low volume month, magnifying year-on-year variation, this was the best outturn since 2019’s 161,064 units.
Growth was recorded in all sectors, led by fleets, up 26.8% to 90,462 registrations. Private retail deliveries grew 20.2% to reach 56,116, while registrations by the smaller business sector rose 15.0% to 2,669.
Demand for petrol cars rose 8.2%, while diesel registrations fell -1.0%. Electrified cars accounted for more than half (53.2%) of the market for the second month this year.
Plug-in hybrid (PHEV) registrations rose 46.4% to take a 13.8% market share, while hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) increased 18.8%, securing 13.2% of new registrations.
April also saw the two millionth battery electric car registered (2,012,758), following bumper growth of 59.1% compared with last year.
Total new car registrations in 2026 are now expected to rise 3.6% to 2.093 million, up from January’s 2.048 million outlook, but BEV share has been downgraded to 26.8%, from 28.5%, following an underperforming first quarter.
Year to date, BEVs comprise 23.1% of the overall new car market, well short of the 33% required by the Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate.
Looking ahead, the 2027 market is anticipated to reach 2.121 million units, 32.0% of them BEVs – leaving a gap of around six percentage points against the mandate target.
Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: “April’s rebound is welcome, but underlines just how significantly fiscal changes can influence the market.
“Two million electric car registrations is a considerable milestone to celebrate, although natural demand is still well below the level demanded by the mandate.”
