Why More Than a Quarter of New Cars Sold in May Were Electric

For the first time this year, more than a quarter of the new cars driven out of UK showrooms in a single month were fully electric. New figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) show battery electric vehicles took 27.3 per cent of the market in May, the highest monthly share of 2026 so far. For anyone weighing up their next car, the headline is simple: there has rarely been more choice or bigger discounts on electric models, but there are a few costs coming down the line that are worth factoring in before you sign.

The wider market had a strong month too. Registrations rose 7.1 per cent to 160,662 cars, the best May since 2019. The Ford Puma held on to its place as Britain’s best selling car with 4,019 sold, followed by the Kia Sportage and the Chinese newcomer Jaecoo 7, a sign of how quickly the choice on forecourts is shifting.

What the May figures show

Electric car registrations jumped 34.2 per cent compared with the same month last year. That growth is being driven by a flood of new models and heavy discounting. The SMMT said the number of battery electric models available has risen 25.6 per cent so far this year, with 31 new electric models reaching buyers since January and a net 21 extra models on sale in May compared with a year earlier.

“Britain’s car buyers are responding to a market offering more choice than ever, from both new and familiar brands,” said SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes. Government support has played a part too, with the reintroduced Electric Car Grant knocking up to £3,750 off the price of qualifying models, although only around a quarter of electric cars currently qualify for help at any level.

Plug-in hybrids and conventional hybrids continue to grow as well, which means electrified cars as a group are closing in on half of all sales. For buyers who are not ready to go fully electric, that wider mix is part of the story, giving more options between a pure petrol car and a battery one.

Why this is a buyer’s market

The most useful detail for shoppers is hidden in how these sales are being achieved. The SMMT has been blunt that carmakers are propping up electric demand with discounts. Across 2025 the industry estimated it spent more than £5 billion subsidising electric car sales, the equivalent of around £11,000 knocked off every battery car registered. That spending has carried into 2026 as manufacturers chase tougher targets.

For a private buyer, that translates into real money off. Deposit contributions, cut interest rates on finance and outright price reductions are widespread on electric models, layered on top of the Electric Car Grant where it applies. The flip side, as the SMMT points out, is that this level of support cannot last forever, so the deals available now may not be repeated once the subsidy taps tighten. Demand for second hand electric cars has surged too, with used EV sales hitting a record high as buyers chase lower running costs.

The target the country keeps missing

Behind the strong month sits a gap the industry cannot ignore. While electric cars reached 27.3 per cent in May, the share across the year so far is 23.9 per cent, well short of the 33 per cent that the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate requires manufacturers to hit in 2026. The mandate sets a rising annual quota for the proportion of electric cars each carmaker sells, with financial penalties for falling short.

That pressure has prompted a political row. Members of the House of Commons Business and Trade Committee have written to ministers warning that the current rules pose an “existential risk” to the UK car industry, describing the thresholds as “outdated” and “severely hurting profit margins” of British manufacturers. They want the government to complete its planned review of the mandate before 2027. The seventh Carbon Budget, published this month, goes further still, envisaging electric vehicles making up 95 per cent of new car and van sales by 2030.

Hawes said the transition was moving but not fast enough on current terms. “The EV transition is progressing, but consumer uptake still lags behind even today’s targets, let alone the ambition set out in the latest Carbon Budget,” he said. Not everyone agrees the answer is to slow down. Vicky Edmonds of the campaign group EVA England argued the focus should stay on winning drivers over: “The priority must be turning that driver interest into real transactions, not creating more confusion about the future.”

The catches every EV buyer should weigh

A cheaper purchase price is only half the sum. Three costs in particular have changed the maths for electric buyers, and all are worth checking before you commit.

• Road tax. Electric cars no longer escape vehicle excise duty, and pricier models can be caught by the expensive car supplement. Recent changes mean many electric cars now avoid the £640 luxury surcharge under a higher threshold, but it still pays to check where a particular car sits.
• Public charging. Drivers without a driveway pay far more to charge, and the government has ordered a review of public charging costs after prices climbed. Charging at home remains the cheapest way to run an electric car by a wide margin.
• Future taxes. A new per mile charge for electric cars, sometimes called eVED, is due from 2028, and London now charges electric cars to enter the congestion zone. Weigh how the picture changes over your ownership, not just the price today.

What it means for you

If you are in the market for a new car, the May figures point to a strong moment to buy electric. Choice is at a record high, with more than 160 models on sale, and manufacturers are discounting hard to hit their targets. Buyers who can charge at home and cover their typical mileage comfortably stand to gain the most.

For everyone else, the sensible move is to do the full sum: purchase price minus any grant and discount, set against road tax, charging costs and how you would top up day to day. With targets, subsidies and taxes all in flux, the deal in front of you now may look very different in a couple of years. The one thing the data makes clear is that the choice has never been wider, which puts buyers in a stronger position than they have been for some time.

The brands reshaping the showroom

May’s best seller list tells its own story about how fast the market is changing. The Ford Puma stayed top with 4,019 sales, a familiar name in a familiar shape, but right behind the Kia Sportage came the Jaecoo 7, a model from a Chinese brand that barely registered in Britain a year ago. Chinese manufacturers have moved quickly into the UK, often pricing keenly and packing in equipment, and they are now a serious presence in the electric and hybrid parts of the market.

For buyers, more competition is mostly good news. A wider field of brands chasing the same customers tends to push prices down and equipment levels up, and it gives people more room to haggle. The caution worth keeping in mind is the longer term. Newer entrants have shorter track records in the UK on servicing, parts supply and resale values, so it is sensible to weigh the warranty, the dealer network and the likely second hand value alongside the headline price before you commit.

Sources:

• https://www.smmt.co.uk/new-car-market-grows-as-consumers-respond-to-choice-and-incentives/
• https://www.electrive.com/2026/06/04/uk-ev-market-share-reaches-27-3-in-strongest-may-since-2019/
• https://www.carwow.co.uk/news/10803/smmt-new-car-registrations-may-2026
• https://www.fleetnews.co.uk/news/mps-call-for-faster-zev-mandate-review