The UK new-car market saw its best February performance since 2004 last month. However, the country’s BEV market saw its struggles continue, as it fails to meet expectations placed upon it.
In total, 90,100 passenger cars were registered in the month, a 7.2% year-on-year increase, data from the SMMT shows. February is often considered one of the UK’s slower months, as buyers wait for the traditional plate-change period in March.
While every powertrain type, except diesel, saw an increase in the month, the country’s BEV market continued to perform poorly. This raises questions over the UK government’s current push for all-electric uptake, amid increased sales targets for manufacturers.
Demand in the country was driven by private registrations, which increased by 17.6% to 35,227 units. Fleet uptake improved by 1.8%, although it held the largest overall volume of 53,506 units.
This suggests that private buyers are not yet tuned in to the BEV market, with fleets seemingly driving it. For the aftermarket, this is crucial. As fleets change their parc every three years on average, it could soon be the used car market that drives BEV adoption. Should this continue, independent workshops will see more all-electric models coming through the doors, making training increasingly essential.
BEV share drops again
The UK’s BEV market appears to be struggling at present. In February, 21,840 all-electric models left showrooms, a rise of 2.8% compared to the same period last year.
This gave the technology a 24.2% market share, dropping by 1.1 percentage points (pp) as results elsewhere outpaced the growth of BEVs. It was the second consecutive decline in market share, at a time when mandated requirements are rising.
However, it is too early to suggest that the market is going to struggle across the year. Results in the first quarter of last year were influenced by the addition of vehicle excise duty (VED) to models from 1 April 2025. Many drivers are likely to have pulled forward purchasing plans, to have their models registered before that date and avoid additional fees.
There was also likely some push from carmakers to get models out, as they sought to help boost their end-of-year figures and meet their requirements under the UK’s zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate.
February’s result means that across the first two months of 2026, 51,494 BEVs have been delivered to customers, a 1.2% increase. However, the 22% market share is down by 0.8pp.
For 2026, the ZEV mandate requires a fleet-sales target of 33%. This was already an ambitious requirement, given the country’s overall BEV sector failed to reach the 28% requirement in 2025.
Are regulations having an impact?
Currently, the UK government is pushing hard for BEV uptake. Its Electric Car Grant incentive scheme provides discounts on certain all-electric models. A new advertising campaign, championing the benefits of BEV driving, is also running across the country.
At the end of February, a grant boost was announced by the government. This is targeted at home renters, flat owners, those without off-street parking and businesses, providing support when installing charging points. This allows for a saving of £500 (€576) when buying a domestic charger, with the plans running until March 2027.
This comes at a time when the cost of public charging, especially on rapid and ultra-rapid chargers, is increasing. According to data from the RAC, ultra rapid chargers increased from an average of 78.06p per kW in January 2025, to 83.2p per KW in January 2026. Prices for rapid chargers rose from 79.75p per kW to 82.1p in the same period.
In addition, BEVs have also been impacted by government regulation changes. Alongside the VED implementation in April, there was also the announcement of a ‘pay-per-mile’ scheme, known as eVED, starting in 2028. This has done little to champion the technology’s affordability, and could add to a workshop’s time in validating mileage each year, even on models under MOT age.
Call for review into BEV transition
With the UK sticking to plans to end sales of petrol and diesel models by 2030, and all but ZEV models from 2035, the slowdown in purchases could be concerning.
‘With year-to-date BEV market share at 22%, two thirds of the 33% share mandated for 2026, March is set to be a pivotal month. Manufacturers have already invested billions in new models and discounts to drive demand, now with support from government’s Electric Car Grant, but circumstances have changed beyond expectation since the regulation was set,’ the SMMT outlined.
‘A holistic review of the transition is needed, and must be completed urgently as buyer confidence is anticipated to be weakened further amid plans to introduce eVED from 2028,’ it continued.
Petrol powers forward
For the first time since September 2025, petrol powertrains enjoyed a year-on-year improvement. In February, 41,935 units were registered, a rise of 5.2%. However, given the month’s low volumes, this equated to an increase of just 2,710 models.
The UK reports petrol powertrain figures differently from other major markets, and European industry body ACEA. It merges mild-hybrid (MHEV) volumes with their equivalent internal-combustion engine (ICE) counterparts. This can skew the results, with the market appearing to perform much better than other countries.
February’s combined result gave petrol a market share of 46.5%. This was down by just 0.9pp compared to the same month last year. Significantly, this was a lower drop than seen by BEVs.
The strong month means that across January and February, petrol registrations increased by 0.7%, with 110,692 units. This was enough for a 47.3% share of the market, down 2pp, but still a dominant tally for the powertrain.
But with a strong private-buyer interest in February, the internal-combustion engine is far from dead.
PHEVs perform best
The standout performance in February came from the plug-in hybrid (PHEV) market. With 10,483 deliveries, volumes rose 43.5% compared to the second month of 2025. This was the 13th consecutive month of double-digit improvement, and the second to see improvement over 40%.
This is a level of consistency that no other powertrain in the UK has matched during the same time. These results have allowed PHEVs to close on the full-hybrid (HEV) market in the UK. In February 2025, at the start of its double-digit growth run, the gap was 4,158 units. Last month, this was 1,369 units. However, it has, at times, been closer, as the powertrains compete.
With its impressive volume jump, PHEVs took an 11.6% market share, up 2.9pp year on year.
Across 2026, the technology has seen a rise of 45.9%, with 28,995 units delivered. It is the only powertrain in the year-to-date chart to see a double-digit increase, and its 12.4% share is a jump of 3.5pp.
HEVs, meanwhile, also saw growth. Figures rose by 3.3%, with 11,807 deliveries made in the month. This equated to a 13.1% market share, down by 0.5pp. Between January and February, 31,104 HEVs left showrooms, a 4.2% increase. Market share remained stable, with a 0.1pp dip.
What this means
The BEV struggle cannot be quantified until April, when it comes up against a run of non-regulatory-impacted results. But as numbers increase, so too do additions to the used-car supply. With the BEV market boom beginning in 2022, it is likely that many registrations are from fleets, changing existing models for newer ones.
For workshops, this makes EV training more important. Coupled with a rise in PHEV numbers, and a stead, if unimpressive, improvement in HEV figures, electrification is growing in the UK.
But February also shows that petrol demand is not dead. The UK is bucking trends seen in other countries. The more new models that take to the roads now, will become increasingly traded through the used-car sector in coming years, or remain in the hands of buyers beyond the 2030 ban. When this happens, servicing is again going to fall to the independent sector.
Therefore, while the powertrain dilution continues in the UK car market, workshops need to be prepared for every eventuality.
