UK new car registrations up 0.5% on-year in October amid electric rise

The UK new car market was stable in October, boosted by electric cars, data published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders, SMMT, showed Wednesday.

There were 144,948 new car registrations in the UK in October, up 0.5% from a year ago. Battery electric vehicle registrations jumped 24% on-year to 36,830, while registrations of new petrol cars were down 12% to 64,360. New diesel car registrations fell 23% to 6,907.

New hybrid electric vehicle registrations were up 2.1% to 19,250.

Battery electric vehicles took a 25.4% market share in October, the second highest in 2025, but falling short of the 28% target set by the zero electric vehicle mandate.

In the year-to-date, the overall BEV market is now up 29% at 386,244 units, more than in all of 2024, SMMT said.

BEVs account for 22.4% of all new sales amid ‘massive manufacturer investment and, more recently, government support through the electric car grant,’ the SMMT said.

It added: ‘For 2026, the overall market is expected to reach 2.032 million units, a moderate improvement on the previous outlook, with the BEV outlook maintained at 28.2%. While this would represent exceptional progress, it would still fall short of mandated targets for 2026, which call for zero emission vehicles to comprise one in three new car registrations. The gap is set to widen in 2027, with BEV share anticipated to hit 32.2% against a 38% target.’

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