- In the previous month of February, 1 in 4 new cars registered in the UK had a fully-electric powertrain, according to the latest statistics from New AutoMotive.
- Specifically, 20,647 new BEVs were registered last month, meaning that fully-electric models edged ever closer to pure petrol models – of which 23,529 were registered in the same period.
- The achievement also comes as EV sales units increase, and ICE sales decline.
UK car industry in a strong position to meet 2025’s ZEV mandate targets
The achievement in sales closely coincides with another key milestone in the UK’s emobility journey, after Zapmap data has shown the country to just surpass a major milestone of 75,000 individual public EV charge points.
The figures also highlight the strong electrification progress being undertaken by legacy OEMs. For BMW, CUPRA, and Citroen’s year-to-date UK registrations, BEV was the most popular fuel type (in addition to brands like BYD and Tesla, which are wholly or majority BEV).
While recent reports showed Tesla sales to drop significantly at the turn of 2025, these latest figures show Tesla sales are back up – with 5,330 Tesla BEVs registered in the year-to-date, an increase of 8% on the same period last year. However, the figures do indicate that Tesla could lose its market-topping EV segment sales to other rivals, over the coming months. The Volkswagen ID.4 overtaking the Model Y across Europe in sales figures is another indication of this shift.
Vicky Edmonds, Chief Executive of EVA England, reacted to the results:
“We’re seeing a really strong performance from the EV market this year that is bucking perceptions and the trend of falling petrol and diesel sales. Yesterday saw two significant milestones reached: across new car sales, 1 in 4 drivers are now choosing EV, and we have over 75,000 public chargepoints across the UK. This shows that consumers are responding well to competitive EV prices and a charging network that is constantly improving. The priority now is for every driver to have the opportunity to consider an EV next. This means ensuring EVs are truly affordable for lower income households, and a charging network that is fully accessible and affordable for all drivers.”
Ben Nelmes, CEO of New AutoMotive, added:
“Motorists are voting with their feet, with one in four confident enough to make the switch to an electric car in February. The latest figures show that the UK’s policies to encourage electric vehicle adoption are working. Ministers should stay the course and give businesses and consumers the certainty they need to invest in an electric future.
Carmakers invested billions in bringing EVs to market, and the UK’s energy sector is investing billions in charge points, creating jobs in every nation and region of the UK. Now is the time to build on this momentum, not slow down.”
