- The sale of new electric cars in the UK continues to get stronger, with BEVs accounting for 26% of all new cars registered in the country last month.
- This marks October as the strongest month of the year so far for UK EV market share, and keeps up the impressive momentum of EV market share we’ve seen in the preceding months.
- While the popularity of electric cars rises, appetite for petrol and diesel is falling, with petrol and diesel car registrations seeing year-on-year declines of 25% and 17% respectively.
Electric cars reach 26% market share in the UK
The new data, revealed by New AutoMotive, shows that over a quarter of new cars sold are now fully-electric variants, boding well for the UK’s target of 28% ZEV sales by the end of the year. It also mirrors the trend of strong EV sales we’ve seen in recent months. In September, the UK recorded its best month ever for EV sales, and EVs have been regularly taking home a market share above 20% in the months before that.
The new figures mean that in the year-to-date, a total of 384,769 new electric cars have been registered on UK roads. By the same period last year, this figure stood at approximately 289,300 – marking a 24.8% year-on-year rise.
It’s now clear that schemes such as the Electric Car Grant are helping to influence new EV sales, with four of the top 10 EV manufacturers this month (Ford, Renault, Volkswagen, and Skoda) having models on sale available with discounts between £1,500 and £3,750. Recent government plans to improve public charging infrastructure through the cutting of planning red tape and the use of battery storage and solar could help even more drivers make the switch, as the UK looks towards a fully-electric car mandate by 2035.
Corrin Reilly, Data Analyst at New AutoMotive, commented:
“In a month defined by market decline for petrol and diesel vehicles, battery electric cars have demonstrated their resilience in these tougher market conditions, reaching a 2025 market share high of 26%. The direction of travel is unmistakable: motorists are moving towards electric vehicles and not looking back.
As we enter the final months of 2025, ZEV Mandate compliance across the industry looks to be very likely, especially once the new increased flexibilities are accounted for, with Tesla, Volkswagen, and BMW among the most over-compliant.”
