The UK’s new car market recorded its strongest February since 2004 last month, as electric and plug-in hybrid cars ate into the market share of petrol, diesel and 'self-charging' hybrids.
In total, 84,886 new cars were sold in February 2024, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). This was a 14.0% increase over the same month a year prior.
The SMMT said the “entirety” of the growth was a result of demand from fleets – to which sales of new cars rose by 25.2% compared with February 2023.
Meanwhile, deliveries to private individuals fell by 2.6%. The SMMT blamed this on buyers waiting for the March numberplate change, saying that February is “traditionally volatile”.
In accordance with the rise in sales to fleets and businesses, PHEVs and electric cars recorded the strongest growth in volumes. PHEV sales were up by 29.1% year on year to 6098, while EV sales grew by 21.8% year on year to 14,991.
This meant the powertrains recorded market shares of 7.2% and 17.7% respectively.
The SMMT said: “While BEV market share and volumes continue to grow during the first year of mandated targets for manufacturers, the increase in uptake is entirely sustained by fleets, thanks to compelling fiscal incentives.
“Private buyers account for fewer than one in five (18.2%) new BEVs registered in 2024 so far.”
The trade body has called for VAT on new EVs to be halved for three years; for the proposed VED changes for electric vehicles to be amended; and for VAT on public charging to be reduced to 5%, in line with home charging.
Petrol cars remain dominant in the UK, accounting for 56.6% of sales in February. That was down slightly on the 56.9% recorded last year, but nonetheless, deliveries of petrols still grew by 13.3% to 48,001.
Hybrids followed the same pattern. Their market share shrank slightly from 12.9% in February 2023 to 12.7% last month, despite a 12.1% improvement in outright sales volume to 10,801.
Diesel was the only powertrain type that slumped, dwindling from 5397 sales in February 2023 to 4995. This 7.4% decrease resulted in a reduction in market share from 7.3% to 5.9%.
The UK’s best-selling car in February was the Ford Puma, 2023’s overall chart-topper, which recorded 2535 sales. It was followed by the Volkswagen Golf with 2203 and the Volkswagen T-Roc with 1986.
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