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The two millionth battery electric car was registered in the UK in April 2026, following growth in EV registrations of 59.1% compared to the same month last year.
As a result, BEV uptake reached 26.2% share of registrations in the month. Year to date, BEVs comprise 23.1% of the overall new car market. The Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate requires 33% of new car sales to be zero emission this year.
According to the latest figures published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) the UK new car market grew by 24.0% to reach 149,247 registrations last month.
The increase reflects a rebound from an unusually weak April last year, when buyers pulled purchases forward to March to beat incoming vehicle tax increases, including the application of VED and the Expensive Car Supplement (ECS) on battery electric vehicles (BEVs).
Growth was recorded in all sectors, led by fleets, up 26.8% to 90,462 registrations. Private retail deliveries grew 20.2% to reach 56,116, while registrations by the smaller business sector rose 15.0% to 2,669.
Demand for petrol cars rose 8.2%, while diesel registrations fell -1.0%. ‘Electrified’ cars accounted for more than half (53.2%) of the market for the second month this year. Plug-in hybrid (PHEV) registrations rose 46.4% to take a 13.8% market share, while hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) increased 18.8%, securing 13.2% of new registrations.
The SMMT’s latest industry outlook shows improving confidence in overall market volumes but also reflects weaker expectations for EV demand. Total new car registrations in 2026 are now expected to rise 3.6% to 2.093 million, up from January’s 2.048 million outlook, but BEV share has been downgraded to 26.8%, from 28.5%, following an underperforming first quarter.
Looking ahead, the 2027 market is anticipated to reach 2.121 million units, 32.0% of them BEVs.
