Record registrations for battery electric vehicles (BEVs) in March point to a structural shift in the UK car market, as rising fuel prices and policy frameworks begin to reshape consumer behaviour and manufacturer strategy. Data from New AutoMotive’s latest Electric Car Count show that BEVs accounted for 22.7 percent of new car registrations, with more than 83,000 units delivered in a single month, marking the highest monthly total to date.
Year-on-year growth of 22.6 percent supported an overall increase in car registrations of 4.9 percent, with electrified vehicles now representing more than a third of the market when plug-in hybrids are included. At the same time, petrol and diesel registrations continued to decline, falling by 12.2 percent and 11.1 percent respectively, reinforcing a longer-term decline.
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March’s figures come alongside rising petrol and diesel prices, though registration data lag orders, meaning the full effect will only become visible in the months ahead. Even so, interest in electric vehicles is nearing record levels.
Ben Nelmes, chief executive of New AutoMotive: “Over eighty thousand motorists successfully avoided the energy price shock in March when they got the keys to their new electric car. Each new electric car reduces the amount of money being drained from UK motorists by global fossil fuel markets.”
Plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) also recorded particularly strong growth, with registrations up 34.5 percent year on year. This is the result of both consumer demand and policy design, as flexibilities within the UK’s Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate allow manufacturers to use PHEVs to meet compliance targets. This supports near-term uptake but raises questions about real-world emissions and how far headline electrification translates into genuine decarbonisation.
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Industry responses reflect both progress and remaining constraints. Tanya Sinclair, chief executive of Electric Vehicles UK, said: “Growth at this scale was the ambition for over a decade. Drivers considering an electric vehicle do not need to hear that the sector is uncertain about its own future.”
Delvin Lane, chief executive of charging network operator InstaVolt, struck a similar note: “This is not sentiment. It is not momentum. It is a structural shift showing up in the numbers, month after month. Petrol is losing share. Electric is taking it. The direction is not in question.” (TF)
