The UK’s new car market saw another strong performance in May, as its run of growth extended into a sixth month.
The latest data from the SMMT shows 160,662 passenger cars joined the country’s roads in the month. This was a 7.1% increase year-on-year, equating to an additional 10,592 units.
According to the SMMT, the growth was driven by a resurgence in private buyers. This segment of the market saw a 17.2% increase in deliveries, as customers responded to increasing competitive offers from a growing range of brands.
This led to a 6.4% rise in model choice year on year, including a 25.6% increase in the number of BEVs available in the year to date. In May 2026, a total of 21 additional models received at least one registration compared with a year prior. In total, 31 new BEV models have received registrations across the first five months of the year.
Brands such as Aion, Changan, Chery, Chevrolet, Geely, Mitsubishi and Skywell all saw deliveries in May’s new car market, with no registrations 12 months prior. The UK’s automotive sector is diversifying, and this choice is likely helping to drive growth in the private sector.
Fleet demand grew more modestly, rising 1.8%. The market still accounted for 57.1% of all new car registrations. The smaller business sector declined by 18.8%, although this equated to a drop of just 720 units.
After five months of the year, the UK new car market stood 8.7% larger than it had at the same point in 2025. With 924,763 registrations, it is well on course to end the year up overall.
BEVs fly in new car market
The UK new car market was buoyed by the performance of electric vehicles (EVs). Made up of BEVs and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), the market saw a 30.5% uptick in registrations during May. With 66,098 deliveries, the sector achieved a 41.1% market share, up 7.4 percentage points. This helped EVs to continue their gap reduction against internal-combustion engine (ICE) models.
Leading the way were BEV powertrains. With 43,931 registrations in the month, they achieved a 34.2% jump year on year. This led to a 27.3% share of the monthly new car total, a rise of 5.5pp. This was also the all-electric market’s biggest monthly share of 2026.
After five months, BEVs have seen registrations increase by 24.3% with 220,629 units. After a slow start to 2026, the powertrain has built momentum. However, its 23.9% market share, while up 3pp, is still far below the 33% required by the zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate.
With 9.1pp to make up over the next seven months, it seems likely that major intervention from carmakers or government is needed to meet targets.
Pressure builds
Carmakers will likely meet their own mandated targets through various flexibilities drawn into the legislation. However, should the UK not meet the 33% share requirement in the new car market overall, it would be the third-successive year that targets have not aligned.
The SMMT highlighted that the widening gap between government expectations and consumer demand is increasing pressure on carmakers. Many of these are having to absorb rising costs of compliance.
Adding to this pressure was the seventh Carbon Budget, recently published by the UK government. According to the Climate Change Committee, electric models will make up 95% of the UK’s new car and van sales by 2030. The committee reported that the falling cost of batteries will propel the move to electric. This would allow BEVs to reach price parity with comparable petrol and diesel cars between 2026 and 2028.
The SMMT highlighted that this is an ambition well beyond the ZEV mandate requirement of 80% for the new car market, and 70% for light-commercial vehicles.
‘This would require a tripling of EV demand in three years, which is highly unlikely under current outlooks. If such targets are to be credible then equally ambitious fiscal and investment support would be essential. A holistic review of the transition is urgently needed,’ the industry body stated.
Are PHEVs slowing down?
Although strong, registrations of PHEVs slowed in May. For the first time this year, the delivery increase came in under 40%. The 22,167-unit total equated to a 23.9% rise year on year. This was still good enough for a 13.8% improvement in market share, up 1.9pp compared to May 2025.
The performance between January and May meant that despite the slight slowdown, PHEVs have still seen a 41.8% increase in the five month period. With 121,430 units delivered, the powertrain broke into six figures a month earlier than in 2025. The technology accounted for 13.1% of the overall new car market, a 3pp jump year on year.
Adding these figures to the BEV tally, and EV numbers have improved by 30% in the first five months of 2026. The powertrain group accounted for 37% of the new car market, a rise of 6.1pp compared to 12 months prior.
Full hybrids struggle
The SMMT counts mild hybrid (MHEV) models with their respective petrol and diesel counterparts, leaving full hybrids (HEVs) as a standalone segment.
In May, HEVs achieved a minimal volume increase of 1.8%. This equated to an additional 368 units taking to UK roads.
The result meant that, in terms of new car market share, HEVs fell behind PHEVs for the second month in succession. Their 12.9% hold of the overall total was 0.7pp down year on year, as other powertrains saw greater improvement. The gap between the two hybrid types grew to 0.9pp, having sat at 0.6pp in April’s monthly figures.
HEVs have seen growth in every month of 2026. However, coming up against strong volumes from 2025 means a slower trajectory of improvement. At the same time, PHEVs are performing well, but against lower figures from last year.
This meant that after five months, HEVs have kept their lead against PHEVs. Volumes were up 7.2%, with 131,802 units. This was good enough for a 14.3% hold of the market, even though this was 0.2pp down year on year.
While the figure was also just 1.2pp up on the PHEV market share, the plug-in technology is coming up against some higher volumes secured in 2025. Its growth in the new car across the rest of the year may, therefore, be slower, making it more difficult to catch up with the full-hybrid sector.
Adding HEVs into the EV figures, and the electrified sector saw a 22.3% improvement in May. Its share of 54% meant it outpaced ICE for the third consecutive month. Between January and May, electrified registrations grew 22.7%, and held 51.2% of the UK market, up 5.8pp.
Petrol leads but figures fall
Petrol continued to lead the UK market in May. Combined with MHEVs, the powertrain saw 66,223 registrations in the month. This was, however, a 7.1% decline compared to the same period last year.
The fuel type managed to secure 41.2% of the overall market in the month, a drop of 6.3pp. However, it remained the dominant technology, with a 13.9pp lead over BEVs.
In the first five months of the year, petrol has seen a slight decrease of 2.5% to 406,453 units. However, this equates to 10,358 fewer models taking to UK roads. Yet with a 44% share, it remains the leading choice with new car buyers. This is down 5pp compared to five month period in 2025.
It may take some time for other powertrains to topple the petrol market in the country. Combined with MHEVs, it remains a formidable force. Yet the gap to BEVs, the second-best choice, has closed since January. Then, it was a 27.1pp chasm. After May, that has decreased to 20.1pp.
Meanwhile, diesel saw 7,622 deliveries in May, a drop of 2.2%. Its 4.7% share was 0.4pp down, as it remained the least-popular fuel type. After five months, diesel had seen a 7.4% decline in volumes to 44,449 registrations, with its 4.8% share down 0.8pp.
Combining the two powertrains, the ICE market fell 6.6% in May. Meanwhile, with 73,845 registrations, this equated to a 46% market share, down 6.7pp, as it lagged behind electrified totals.
After five months, ICE deliveries have dropped by 3%, with 450,905 registrations. This equated to a 48.8% market share, down by 5.9pp.
Ford leads but Jaecoo impresses
The Ford Puma was again the leading model in the UK new car market. With 4,019 registrations in May, it was comfortably ahead of the Kia Sportage in second position.
But it was another impressive performance by the Jaecoo 7 that caught the eye. The best-selling model in March slipped down the charts in April, but took fourth position in May, with 3,027 units. It was just 48 deliveries away from third place, which was held by the Vauxhall Corsa.
After five months, the model has placed third in the best-seller chart. With just 579 units between it and second place, a push in deliveries could see it head into the runner-up spot as the year progresses. The progress made by the carmaker highlights the continuing model diversity in the UK, suggesting garages should be prepared for more work from unfamiliar brands in the years ahead.
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