Petrol Falls to 37.2% of New Car Sales as Electric Hits 32%, SMMT Shows

• New car registrations rose 5.4% to 152,730 in October, the 11th monthly increase in a row, in SMMT’s figures for the month.
• Petrol fell to 37.2% of the market from 44.4% a year earlier and diesel to 3.8%, while battery electric climbed to 32.0% from 25.4%.
• Battery electric holds 26.6% of sales for the year to date, and SMMT warns that heavy discounting of new electric cars lowers trade-in values for their owners.

Plug-In Cars Outsold Petrol and Diesel Combined in October

Petrol cars took 56,876 registrations in October, a 37.2% share and down 11.6% from 64,357 a year earlier, and diesel fell 15.9% to 5,811. Together they made up 41.0% of the month, down from 49.2% in October 2025, a drop of 8,577 cars and about 8 points of market share in 12 months. Battery electric cars registered 48,858, up 32.7% and 12,028 cars higher than a year ago, for a 32.0% share. Plug-in hybrids added 22,898, up 30.1%, for 15.0%.

Add the two plug-in types together and they reached 47.0% of the month, against 41.0% for petrol and diesel combined. A year earlier plug-ins held 37.6%. Regular hybrids, the type that charge themselves as you drive, went the other way: 18,287 registrations, down 5.0%, a 12.0% share against 13.3%. SMMT counts all three electrified types together at almost six in 10 cars (59.0%).

The whole market grew by 7,785 cars, from 144,945 to 152,730. Plug-in sales added 17,325 cars, and petrol, diesel and regular hybrids lost 9,540 between them. The 11th straight monthly rise came at around half the growth rate of the first 10 months of the year, after a bumper September number-plate change. SMMT labels these figures preliminary and subject to change until the full and final numbers are published.

The Year So Far Tells a Slower Story

October is the best month of 2026 for battery electric share, and the year to date still sits well below it. Across January to October, SMMT counts 1,892,000 new cars, up 9.8% from 1,723,117. Battery electric accounts for 503,805 of them, up 30.4%, a 26.6% share against 22.4% a year earlier. Petrol holds 41.1% (778,492 cars, down 4.4%), so October’s 37.2% petrol share ran 3.9 points under the year’s average, and electric ran 5.4 points over its own. Diesel has 4.4% for the year (83,494 cars, down 7.8%), plug-in hybrids 14.1% (267,667 cars, up 40.7%) and regular hybrids 13.7% (258,542 cars, up 6.9%).

That gap shapes the argument manufacturers are now making in public. The ZEV Mandate sets each maker a battery electric sales target, and SMMT’s latest outlook expects 27.2% this year against a 33% target, 32% next year against 38%, and 37.5% in 2028 against 52%. The 2028 shortfall of 14.5 percentage points is more than double the 5.8 points forecast for this year. The fines side of the Mandate is covered in the site’s explainer on the £12,000 EV Mandate fine.

Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said: “Almost one in three new cars registered in October was electric – great progress in the transition, but one that comes at enormous cost. The industry and government are spending billions to help drivers switch, but that support cannot be sustained indefinitely with the gap to mandated targets set to more than double by 2028, just as a new EV-only tax is introduced. Higher targets may force supply, but they do not create demand. The ZEV Mandate review must deliver substantive reform effective immediately to ensure we have a healthy market and an attractive pitch to investors.”

SMMT is the trade body for the motor industry, and it is asking government to revise the targets down. Autotrader’s commentary on the month points to a second driver of demand: fuel prices that have climbed after the Iran war began in February, which it calls a fragile foundation for electric sales if they ease.

Private Buyers Took 38.1% of the Market

Private buyers registered 58,229 cars in October, up 4.1% from 55,950, for a 38.1% share. That share slipped from 38.6% a year earlier, as fleets and businesses grew faster. Fleet registrations (companies running 25 or more vehicles) rose 5.4% to 89,985, a 58.9% share. Business registrations (companies running fewer than 25 vehicles) jumped 24.5% to 4,516 from 3,628, and now take 3.0% of the market against 2.5%.

Over the year to date private buyers have grown faster than fleets: 754,198 cars, up 12.1%, for a 39.9% share against 39.1%. Fleet has 1,090,492 cars (up 7.8%, a 57.6% share) and business 47,310 (up 23.0%, 2.5%). Companies still register about six in 10 new cars.

Ford Slid Below Jaecoo and BYD

Volkswagen led the brand table with 13,687 cars, up 4.1%, a 9.0% share. Behind it the rankings moved. Ford registered 5,851 cars, down 35.2% from 9,023, which is 3,172 fewer sales and drops it below both Jaecoo (6,089) and BYD (6,065). Vauxhall fell 17.4% to 5,133, Peugeot 25.4% to 4,063, Volvo 26.5% to 4,004 and Audi 12.8% to 8,125. Tesla registered 282 cars, down 44.8% from 511.

The climbers are mostly newer names. MG registered 7,837 cars, up 85.1% from 4,233. Jaecoo rose 113.6% from 2,851 to 6,089, BYD 73.3% from 3,499 to 6,065, Chery 193.5% from 1,263 to 3,707 and Leapmotor 107.1% from 856 to 1,773. Those five makers together registered 25,471 cars against 12,702 a year earlier, a rise of 100.5% that lifted their joint share from 8.8% to 16.7%.

The model table shows the same pattern. The Jaecoo 7 was October’s best seller with 3,412 registrations, just ahead of the Ford Puma on 3,369, though the Puma still leads the year with 46,295 against 42,885. The Volkswagen Golf took third with 2,642 and the Mini Countryman fourth with 2,480. Among electric cars the Skoda Enyaq led with 1,568, ahead of the Mini Countryman (1,494), the Jaecoo 5 (1,465), the Vauxhall Frontera (1,331) and the Audi Q4 e-tron (1,234).

What the Shift Costs You, and What It Saves

SMMT says manufacturers have put billions into price cuts, finance at low rates or 0%, deposit contributions and even paid-for charging to lift electric sales above underlying demand. The government’s Electric Car Grant adds to the support. For a buyer, that means the offers on new electric cars are real and sizeable. SMMT also names the catch: heavy discounting of brand new electric models pulls trade-in values down, and an owner selling later has less to put into the next car. A saving at the showroom returns as a lower sale price years on.

Running costs have two Budget changes attached. SMMT notes that a new EV-specific tax, eVED, is confirmed from 2028, and that proposed rules would leave public charging at the full 20% rate of VAT, a charge home charging does not carry. SMMT says both send mixed messages to consumers.

The electric mileage tax from April 2028 will add 3p for every mile driven in a fully electric car: 10,000 miles a year costs £300, and 5,000 miles costs £150. A driver without a driveway would pay that on top of the 20% VAT that the proposed rules keep on public charging.

The Department for Transport shows how slowly the cars on the road change. At the end of June 2026 there were 2,017,000 licensed zero emission cars, up 34.0% in a year, but that is 5.8% of the 34,888,140 licensed road using cars. The other 94.2%, some 32.9 million, are not zero emission. Zero emission cars made up 27.3% of new registrations in April to June 2026 against 22.2% a year earlier, with 147,000 registered, up 40.5%.

What to Check Before You Sign

Ask the dealer for the deposit contribution as a pound figure and compare it with the cash discount on the same car. A contribution only counts if the monthly payment and the total payable come out lower than the plain finance quote.

Compare the total payable, not the monthly figure. A 0% deal charges no interest, so the car’s price carries the whole bargain, and the cash price at two other dealers shows whether it is a good one. On the morning of the Bank of England’s rate decision on 5 November, Ian Plummer, Autotrader Chief Customer Officer, said: “Despite a likely Bank of England rate rise later today, car finance prices are rarely significantly impacted by central bank movements, which is good news for buyers and the prospects for the wider market.” A change in Bank Rate is no reason to delay a purchase or to rush one.

Ask what the car is expected to be worth at the end of the agreement and who carries the risk if it is worth less. For a three-year deal on a heavily discounted electric car, SMMT’s trade-in warning puts that question ahead of the monthly payment.

Add the running costs that start later. Take your yearly mileage, multiply it by 3p for the 2028 charge, and set the result against the fuel you use now. If you charge away from home, price a typical week at the public charger prices the site has reported, with 20% VAT included.

If the car you want is petrol, you are still in the largest single fuel group: 56,876 cars and 37.2% of October registrations, and 778,492 cars so far this year.

Reviewed by Preetam Gadekar

Sources

• SMMT: Year-end push lifts EV sales but Mandate gap set to widen
• SMMT: UK New Car Registration Data
• Department for Transport: Vehicle licensing statistics April to June 2026
• Autotrader: Commentary, New Car Registrations October 2026

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