New car market up 3.4% in January

The UK’s new car market grew by 3.4% in January, figures show.

Some 144,127 new cars were registered last month, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said.

That is compared with 139,345 during the same period last year.

The SMMT said it was the industry’s strongest January performance since 2020, before coronavirus restrictions.

Pure battery electric new cars took a market share of 20.6%, which was their lowest monthly figure since April 2025.

Registrations of these cars grew by just 0.1% year-on-year.

The SMMT noted this followed “strong” demand at the end of last year when manufacturers were pushing to meet regulatory targets, which will have “affected the January market”.

New petrol car registrations fell by 1.9%, while plug-in hybrids – which have a traditional combustion engine and an electric motor with a battery charged by a plug – were up 47.3%.

SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said: “Britain’s new car market is building back momentum after a challenging start to the decade.

“It is also decarbonising more rapidly than ever and, despite a January dip in EV market share, the signs point to growth by the end of the year.

“The pace of the transition, however, may be slowing and is certainly behind mandated targets.

“With sales of new pure petrol and diesel cars planned to end in less than four years, there needs to be a comprehensive review of the transition now, to ensure ambition can match reality.”

Under the Government’s zero-emission vehicle (Zev) mandate, at least 33% of cars sold by each manufacturer this year must be zero-emission, which generally means pure battery electric.

But companies are able to use flexibilities to achieve compliance, such as selling large numbers of plug-in hybrids.

Ian Plummer, chief customer officer of online vehicle marketplace Autotrader, said the “virtually flat” January performance of pure battery electric new cars was “an early concern” as they are “well below the 33% mandate”.

He added: “While almost two-thirds of car buyers are considering an electric for their next car, we need to ensure that consideration turns into actual sales, so there is clearly more to be done.

“Mass electric adoption will need to come from the used market but upfront affordability is the key barrier here so more Government support is needed – such as extending the Electric Car Grant to used EVs.”

Tanya Sinclair, chief executive of lobby group Electric Vehicles UK, said: “Battery electric registrations may have softened slightly in January, while plug-in hybrids rose on the back of discounting.

“British consumers are still moving towards cars with plugs, and away from those without.”