Battery electric cars take 25.4% market share in October

The UK’s new car market remained largely steady in October, rising 0.5% to 144,948 registrations, according to new data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). While overall growth was modest, electric vehicles continued to accelerate ahead.

Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) led the charge, with registrations growing 23.6% - an additional 7,028 cars compared with the same month last year. BEVs secured a 25.4% market share, the second highest this year, though still short of the 28% required under the government’s Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Mandate. Plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) also performed strongly, up 27.2% to take 12.1% of the market, while hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) saw a smaller rise of 2.1%, accounting for 13.3%. Altogether, electrified vehicles captured the majority of new car sales for the second consecutive month, with 50.8% of the market.

So far this year, BEV registrations have climbed 28.9% to 386,244 units, already surpassing the total for 2024 with two months still remaining. Electric cars now make up 22.4% of all new sales, driven by heavy manufacturer investment and support from the government’s Electric Car Grant.

Looking ahead, the SMMT forecasts the overall new car market will return to pre-pandemic levels in 2025, exceeding two million units for the first time since 2019. BEVs are expected to account for 23.3% of those sales, rising to 28.2% in 2026. However, this would still leave the industry short of the government’s targets, which require one in three new cars to be zero-emission by 2026, rising to 38% in 2027.

Industry leaders have warned that the government’s proposed abolition of Employee Car Ownership Schemes (ECOS) could derail this progress. Around 100,000 cars - 5% of annual registrations - are currently supplied through ECOS each year. Making these vehicles liable for company car tax could shut down the schemes, cutting access to affordable EVs, slashing £1 billion in industry revenue, and threatening 5,000 manufacturing jobs. The SMMT estimates that the move could cost the Treasury half a billion pounds in lost VAT and excise duty, twice the amount allocated to support EV adoption through the Electric Car Grant.