According to data released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) in the UK, new car registrations in March this year increased by 10.4% year-on-year to 317,786 vehicles. This not only marks 20 consecutive months of growth but also represents the best March performance since March 2019. However, new car registrations in March in the UK still remain below pre-COVID levels.
Fleet registrations continued to be the main driver of growth in the UK new car market last month, increasing by 29.6% year-on-year to 181,399 vehicles. However, challenging economic factors such as low growth, weak consumer confidence, and high interest rates led to a 7.7% year-on-year decrease in private market registrations. Additionally, new car registrations from small businesses dropped by 8% year-on-year.
In terms of powertrain systems, petrol cars still hold the largest share in the UK automotive market. In March, registrations of petrol cars increased by 9.2% year-on-year to 177,019 vehicles, accounting for 55.7% of the market share. Diesel car registrations decreased by 2.7% year-on-year to 23,312 vehicles, representing a 7.3% market share. Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs) reached record levels of registrations, growing by 19.6% year-on-year to 44,550 vehicles, with a 14% market share. Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles showed the highest growth rate at 36.7%, reaching 24,517 vehicles and a market share of 7.7%. Although registrations of pure electric vehicles reached an all-time high (increasing by 3.8% year-on-year to 48,388 vehicles), their market share decreased by one percentage point compared to the same period last year, dropping to 15.2%.
SMMT highlighted in a press release that the decline in market share of pure electric vehicles in a continuously growing market underscores the necessity of government support to encourage consumers to purchase electric vehicles. Strong tax incentives will continue to drive the adoption of pure electric vehicles by large fleets in the UK. However, with the challenging economic backdrop, the difficulty for consumers to bear the cost of these new technologies is expected to increase.
SMMT mentioned that while automakers are also offering generous incentives to help more consumers transition to zero-emission vehicles and achieve government and industry carbon emission targets, this cannot continue indefinitely. A comprehensive transition requires incentives not only for fleets and corporate customers but also for retail consumers.
Looking at the first quarter of this year, new car registrations in the UK reached 545,548 vehicles, with a year-on-year growth rate of 10.4%. Pure electric vehicle registrations increased by 10.6%, totaling 84,314 vehicles, while plug-in hybrid electric vehicles saw a 34% year-on-year increase to 42,559 vehicles.
