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Electric vehicles drive 6.6% rise March new car sales - SMMT
By Frank Prenesti
Date: Tuesday 07 Apr 2026
(Sharecast News) - UK new car sales rose 6.6% year on year in March, with a surge in electric vehicle sales to their best month on record, according to industry data published on Tuesday.
Latest figures revealed 380,627 new vehicles were registered in March, which is typically the busiest month of the year due to licence plate changes, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said, making it the best month overall since 2019.
Private buyer registrations rose 10.1% to 162,470 units, while fleet registrations were up 3.5% to 208,853.
Electric vehicles accounted for 196,059 registrations. Plug-in hybrid sales rose 46.9% to take 13% of the market, while hybrid electric vehicles were up 7.3% with a 15.8% market share.
Battery electric vehicles sales rose 24.2% to a record 86,120 sales.
"However, with a market share of only 22.6% for the month, and 22.4% year to date, uptake is now even further adrift of the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Mandate target, which demands 33% for 2026," the SMMT said.
However, SMMT CEO Mike Hawes said the headlines "belie the costs incurred and the challenges involved".
"Much of March's performance will be from orders placed before the start of the Iran conflict, which threatens to raise the cost of living, undermining consumer confidence," he said.
"Against this backdrop, and with the EV market falling further away from mandated levels despite record levels of incentives, an urgent review of the transition is required to secure a sustainable market, economic growth and the UK's net zero ambitions."
"Despite rising EV volumes, conditions have diverged sharply from those assumed when the mandate was set. At the start of 2026, battery costs were more than 30% higher than expected and industrial energy prices around 80% above 2021 levels, while public charging can cost over 140% more than five years ago."
Hawes warned that future costs and demand were even more uncertain given the Iran crisis, which may spark interest in EVs but risked pushing up energy and supply chain costs, undermining consumer confidence.
"Having invested billions in the technology and products to deliver a choice of more than 160 EV models, manufacturers are relying heavily on discounting to stimulate demand," he added.
Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com
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