UK new-car registrations suffer worst result in almost three years
07 May 2025
Once a pillar of stability in Europe, the UK new-car market is now faltering. April marked its weakest performance since June 2022, raising fresh concerns. Autovista24 special content editor Phil Curry breaks down the latest numbers.
The UK’s new-car market suffered one of its worst results in recent years during April. Latest data from the SMMT shows registrations declined 10.4% in the month. However, several factors combined to cause this drop in deliveries.
The result is the sixth fall in registrations in the last seven months. Only March saw a rise, thanks to the country’s new plate release. The drop in April highlights the frailty of the market, which was one of the strongest in Europe until recently.
April saw the steepest drop in registrations since June 2022, when supply-chain crisis issues hit deliveries. Since then, there have only been seven monthly declines, as the market built itself back. Yet the dramatic drop last month indicates the potential struggles that lie ahead.
Changing UK legislation
April is often a quieter month for registrations in the UK, following on from the busy period in March. However, volumes were also impacted by a later Easter in 2025, which reduced working days compared to last year.
The month also saw the implementation of vehicle excise duty (VED) on battery-electric vehicles (BEVs). The implementation of VED on BEVs will add around £195 to the cost of new models each year, with this rate reduced to just £10 in year one.
In addition, the Expensive Car Supplement on electric models costing over £40,000 (€47,021) also came into effect. The ECS will see £425 added to the standard VED rate in years two to six of registration, increasing costs further.
This may have impacted consumer confidence in the electric vehicle (EV) market, which has recently been the strongest segment. With May offering a return to a normal working-day comparison, it will provide a clearer picture. This is especially true for assessing recent changes in the BEV market.
Are BEVs faltering?
BEV registrations grew 8.1% in April, with 24,558 units taking to UK roads. While this is a positive outcome for the all-electric market, it is the lowest growth in the year to date. January, February and March all saw registrations improve by over 40%, indicating a significant drop in the market during April.
However, the rise did mean that BEVs took a 20.4% market share in the month. This was up by 3.5 percentage points (pp) compared with April 2024.
The fall may be the result of the implementation of VED and ECS. The exemption from these taxes could have been seen as incentives for BEV purchase earlier in the year. Therefore, some potential buyers may be put off by the additional costs in April.
This could raise concerns amongst carmakers, who are trying to adhere to the UK’s zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate. The government has made it easier to avoid fines by increasing the flexibility within the regulations. However, the target of 28% may still be out of reach for many carmakers.
In the first four months of the year, the BEV market was up 35.2%, with 144,749 registrations. This equates to a 20.7% market share, an improvement of 5pp, but below the ZEV mandate target.
The SMMT has again called on the UK government to help boost the BEV market. It has suggested halving VAT on new EV purchases, scrapping or amending the ECS and equalising VAT on public charging to that levied on domestic options. By doing this, the body believes it will send a strong signal to hesitant buyers.
Mixed results for hybrids
Plug-in hybrids (PHEVS) were the only other powertrain in April to record growth. Deliveries of the technology were up 34.1%, reaching 14,073 units. This gave PHEVs an 11.7% market share, up from 7.8% in April 2024.
In the first four months of the year, PHEVs have achieved consistent growth. Between January and April, the market improved by 27.7%, with 67,759 units delivered. This equated to a 9.7% market share, up 1.9pp.
However, full hybrids (HEVs) struggled in April, recording their first decline of the year. With a total of 16,586 registrations, figures were down 2.9% in the month. However, this was just a difference of 495 units compared to the same period last year.
This was the first drop in the HEV market since November 2024. The UK does not include mild-hybrids in these figures, instead merging them into their respective petrol and diesel counterparts.
In this respect, EVs continue to prop up the UK market, while other powertrains struggle. Despite the decline in registrations, HEVs actually improved their market share, by 1.1pp to 13.8%. This was mainly due to poor performances from other powertrains.
The HEV decline in April was not enough to impact the year-to-date results for the technology. Registrations over the first four months of the year rose 14.6%, with 102,591 units making their way to customers. This meant a 14.6% share of the market, up by 1.4pp.
Electrified market poised to dominate UK
With the positive results for the BEV and PHEV markets, the EV sector saw an improvement of 16.3% in April. This was an increase of 5,421 units, and equated to a market share of 32.1%, up 7.4pp. Therefore, EVs made up nearly a third of UK new-car registrations in April.
Over the first four months of the year, the plug-in market was up 32.7%, with 52,425 more units taking to the road. The 30.3% share was an increase on the 23.5% recorded during the same period in 2024.
Adding HEVs into this mix, the electrified vehicle sector gained 9.8% more registrations last month, for a 45.9% market share. The technology has yet to capitalise on the decline of internal-combustion engine (ICE) registrations. However, it is likely just a matter of time before it becomes the dominant segment.
In the year to date, electrified models were up by 26.2%, as 65,464 more new models were delivered to customers. This gave the powertrain grouping a 45% share of total registrations, up by 8.3pp against the same period last year.
ICE drags market down
The UK new-car market’s struggles this year stem from a sharp drop in petrol registrations. April was the worst month of the year so far, with a 22% decline in deliveries.
In total, 58,733 petrol-powered units took to UK roads, a drop of 16,601 deliveries. This is the 13th consecutive month of petrol declines, and the worst drop in that period. Even with MHEVs added into their figures, the powertrain is unable to improve its performance year on year.
This may be due to carmakers prioritising HEV and BEV models in their ranges, reducing the availability of petrol models. It seems buyers are turning away from the market in favour of greener options.
Despite its poor performance, petrol still managed to dominate the market. Its share of 48.8%, however, was down by 7.3pp year on year.
Between January and April, petrol registrations declined 10%, with 345,520 units taking to the road. This gave the technology a 49.3% share of the total, a drop from the 56.5% recorded in the same period last year.
Meanwhile, diesel’s decline continued. The fuel type recorded 6,381 registrations in the month, down 26.2%. Its 5.3% market share was a drop of 1.1pp compared to April 2024, making it the worst-performing powertrain in the month.
Over the first four months of the year, diesel has seen deliveries decline 13.2%, with just 40,214 units registered. This gave the technology a 5.7% market share, down 1.1pp.
Combined, the ICE market fell 22.5% in April, equating to 18,869 fewer units. It still led delivery figures, with a 54.1% share of all registrations, although this was a drop of 8.4pp. In the year-to-date figures, ICE was down by 10.3%, with a 55% market share, down 8.3pp.
