The UK new car market rose 5.4% to 152,730 registrations in October, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). The performance marks the 11th consecutive increase.
However, the market this year will likely turn out well under pre-Covid levels at around 2.2m units (and that total propelled by intense competition driven by recent Chinese brand entrants) according to GlobalData.
Plug-in hybrid (PHEV) and battery electric (BEV) cars accounted for all of the growth. PHEV registrations rose 30.1% to take a 15.0% market share, while BEV deliveries increased by 32.7% to secure 32.0% – their highest share this year as manufacturers intensified efforts to bring registrations closer to the annual mandated target, repeating the pattern of the previous two years.
Hybrid (HEV) volumes declined for a second month, down 5.0%, but, together, electrified cars accounted for almost six in 10 (59.0%) registrations.
More than half a million (503,805) BEVs have been registered this year, up 30.4% on a year ago. Manufacturers are backing the transition with major investments in technologies, factories and workforces worldwide, including £14.3 billion committed to UK EV manufacturing since 2020. That investment has delivered more than 180 BEV models to the current market, offering an average range in excess of 300 miles on a single charge, the SMMT says.
However, the SMMT criticised the UK’s ZEV Mandate current regulatory framework and said the ZEV Mandate targets were set in ‘very different global and domestic economic conditions, and manufacturers have since been forced to spend billions on discounts, low and 0% finance, deposit contributions and even subsidised charging to incentivise sales beyond underlying demand’.
It said such practices on new electric models undermine the UK's attractiveness as a market and manufacturing location, eroding profitability, with a long-term consumer detriment as lower trade-in values leave owners less able to afford their next car.
Moreover, the SMMT said BEV share of the UK new car market is expected to reach 27.2% this year against the 33% ZEV Mandate target. The gap is also set to widen next year when the target rises to a 38% share level/
By 2028, BEV share is expected to reach 37.5% – 14.5 percentage points behind the 52% mandated, more than double this year’s shortfall.
The SMMT is therefore urging the UK Government to make ‘substantive changes to the targets, revising them down so they better reflect demand, alongside full flexibilities throughout the regulation to bridge the remaining gap’.
Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said: “Almost one in three new cars registered in October was electric – great progress in the transition, but one that comes at enormous cost. The industry and government are spending billions to help drivers switch, but that support cannot be sustained indefinitely with the gap to mandated targets set to more than double by 2028, just as a new EV-only tax is introduced. Higher targets may force supply, but they do not create demand. The ZEV Mandate review must deliver substantive reform effective immediately to ensure we have a healthy market and an attractive pitch to investors.”
The Jaecoo 7 again topped the sales charts last month – as it did previously in September and March. The plate-change months of March and September tend to see concentrated OEM marketing activities and dealer discounts. A Jaecoo model at the top of the sales chart is an indication of just how competitive the market was in September, that highly competitive market spilling over into October. Year-to-date, Ford’s Puma is in the number one slot.
