UK car manufacturers saw a slight decrease in sales last month but there was an increase in sales of electric vehicles, according to data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
In what is traditionally one of the quietest months of the year as many buyers prefer to wait until September’s number plate change, new car registrations in August totalled 84,575. That’s a drop of 1.3% compared with August last year.
Fleet purchases continued to drive the market, accounting for six in 10 cars registered last month, despite a 1.2% drop year-on-year. Registrations by private buyers were flat, up 0.2%, while business registrations were down by 30.3%.
Sales of petrol and diesel models fell by 10.1% and 7.3% respectively, but together these fuel types still represented more than half (56.8%) of all new car registrations in August. Plug-in hybrid (PHEV) registrations declined by 12.3%, with a 6.8% share, but hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) uptake increased by 36.1%, to take 13.8% of the market.
Battery electric vehicle (BEV) registrations, meanwhile, rose by 10.8% which the SMMT attributed to heavy discounting by manufacturers over the summer and a raft of new models attracting buyers. Market share in August reached 22.6%, the highest for a month since December 2022.
For the year to date, BEV market share edged up to 17.2% and is expected to rise further to 18.5% by the end of the year — but this is still below the 22% required by the Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate.
The industry has called for a range of measures to boost the market for new EVs, including binding targets on public chargepoint provision commensurate with those placed on car manufacturers, as well as the reintroduction of incentives for private buyers and removal of disincentives, such as the Vehicle Excise Duty expensive car supplement.
“The introduction of the new 74 plate, together with a raft of compelling offers and discounts from manufacturers, plus growing model choice, will help increase purchase consideration and be a true barometer for market demand,” said SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes.
“Encouraging a mass market shift to EVs remains a challenge, however, and urgent action must be taken to help buyers overcome affordability issues and concerns about chargepoint provision.”
