For just the third time this year, the UK’s new-car market saw growth, with electric vehicles (EVs) responsible for the monthly registrations improvement.
Deliveries rose by 6.7% last month, according to the latest data from the SMMT. With 191,316 units making their way to customers. This was the third improvement of the year, and was driven almost entirely by electric vehicles (EVs).
The latest figures highlight that both battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) are on the rise, while petrol and diesel, the latter of which recorded an extremely modest improvement, are in decline. This is an important point for the UK aftermarket.
The country’s new-car sector has been in a state of flux during 2025. Carmakers are under pressure to deliver on their zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate targets, despite some buyer apathy towards the technology. With internal-combustion engine (ICE) registrations also in decline, these challenges have impacted the sector.
However, thanks to a strong March, when the country introduced new registration plates, year-to-date figures have remained positive. At the end of the first half of 2025, deliveries were up 3.5%, with 1,042,219 units.
Note for the aftermarket
Petrol and diesel registrations have struggled across this year. Part of the reason is likely to be a lack of options from carmakers, who are focused on BEVs to ensure they make their ZEV mandate requirements.
Therefore, buyers who want an internal-combustion engine model are either going to hold on to existing models, or turn to the used-car sector. This will see the car parc age continue to increase, and as it does so, it will also mean more servicing work for garages.
Additionally, there are increasing numbers of hybrid, BEV and PHEV models joining UK roads. These will enter workshops in the future, especially those registered by fleets.
June saw registrations driven mostly by fleet activity with uptake climbing 8.5% to 114,841 units. Private retail demand grew 5.9% to 71,616 units but still accounted for just 37.4%. Business registrations fell 15.8% to 4,859 units.
PHEVS see improvement
PHEVs have enjoyed a swing in registrations this year. While volume levels are some way below those of BEVs, growth has been consistent. June represented the fifth-consecutive month of double-digit improvement, as 28.8% more units were delivered. This equated to a total of 21,382 PHEVs making their way to customers.
The result gave the technology an 11.2% market share. This was up by 1.9 percentage points (pp) compared to June 2024.
The growth across the year means it is no surprise that at the end of the first half of 2025, PHEV registrations have improved strongly. With 107,039 units, deliveries increased 31.3%. The powertrain’s market share rose by 2.2pp, to 10.3%.
With PHEVs not counting towards the ZEV mandate, this growth appears to be organic. With more models available, and a likelihood that ICE options are lessening, the market is suddenly more attractive for buyers.
Strong registrations for BEVS
BEVs were the leading powertrain in terms of registrations growth. Volumes were up 39.1% to 47,354 deliveries. This equated to 13,320 more all-electric vehicles delivered year on year. The technology took a 24.8% market share in the month, meaning one in four cars registered was a BEV. This was up from 19% recorded a year previously.
With the UK not offering any incentives for BEV purchases, carmakers are instead offering discounts. According to the SMMT, around £6.5 billion (€7.5 billion) has been spent on discounts since the ZEV mandate was introduced at the start of 2024.
For 2025, the target market share has increased to 28%. Yet in the first six months, BEV registrations accounted for just 21.6% of total deliveries, some way off the requirement. This is despite BEV deliveries increasing 34.6% compared to the same period last year, with 224,841 units.
‘This level of discounting is unsustainable. The government has acted on the ZEV mandate, tweaking it to remove some of the burden on the industry. But consumer confidence in these new technologies is still not there. We would seek still more incentives, for the private consumer from the government. But what we are getting is disincentives,’ Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, told the press at the recent International Automotive Summit.
In recent months, BEVs have been required to pay vehicle excise duty each year. They are also now eligible for the expensive car supplement, increasing tax if a vehicle is sold for more than £40,000. It is therefore likely that the increase in registrations comes at the cost of further discounting.
The two strong results for BEVs and PHEVs meant that, combined, EV registrations rose 35.7% in June. This equated to a difference of 18,098 units year on year. Between January and June, EV deliveries improved 33.5%, with 83,262 more units taking to UK roads.
Hybrids fall
While EVs gained, full hybrids (HEVs) struggled in June. Unlike other markets, the SMMT does not merge mild-hybrid (MHEV) powertrains together with HEVs, giving a clearer picture of the powertrain’s progress.
For the second time in 2025, HEVs saw a registrations decline last month. Deliveries fell by 8.5%, with 23,835 units. This left the powertrain with a 12.5% market share, a drop of 2pp year on year.
HEVs have consistently been the UK’s third-best powertrain type, behind BEVs and petrol models. However, with the continued strong results for PHEVs, the gap between these two hybrid technologies has been closing in recent months. June represented the smallest difference between PHEV and HEV market shares so far this year, at Just 1.3pp.
In the year to date, HEVs are up by 9%, with 146,777 registrations. This has given the powertrain a 14.1% market share, up by just 0.7pp compared to the first half of 2024.
Adding HEVs into the UK’s EV mix, electrified vehicles were again the dominant powertrain technology last month. With a 20.7% rise in registrations, they accounted for 48.4% of the overall registrations total, a rise of 5.6pp. In the first six months of 2025, the technology has seen growth of 24.9%, with a 7.8pp market share increase, to 45.9%.
Diesel surprises with growth
Diesel registrations, including MHEVs saw a rare increase in June. However, their improvement was negligible, with a 10,716-unit total giving a 0.2% rise. This meant just 20 more models were delivered to customers in the month.
Despite this most marginal of increases, the fuel-type’s market share dropped 0.4pp, to 5.6%.
In the first six months of the year, diesel registrations have declined by 11.3%, with 58,722 units taking to UK roads. This means its share of the overall registration total in this period is also 5.6%, down by 1pp compared to the same period in 2024.
Petrol registrations, combined with MHEV powertrains, continued their run of declines, with a 4.2% drop in the month. However, the fuel-type remained the UK’s most dominant powertrain. But June represented its lowest market share of the year, at just 46%. This was down by 5.3pp compared to the same point last year.
Between January and June, petrol registrations have fallen 9.4%, with 504,840 units delivered. Yet they still make up the majority of the UK’s new-car market, with a 48.4% share. This, however, is down from the 55.4% recorded in the first half of last year.
Combined, ICE deliveries were down 3.7% in June, with a 51.6% market share, dropping 5.6pp. Across the first six months of the year, registrations in this powertrain group have dropped 9.6%, with a 54.1% share down from 61.9% in the same period of 2024.
