Britain’s new car market has delivered its strongest May performance since before the pandemic, with registrations up 7.1 per cent, and with demand increasingly electrified.

Full EVs took a 27.3 per cent market share in May, their highest in 2026 so far, with registrations up 34.2 per cent, while plug-in hybrids also posted strong growth of 23.9 per cent.

Manufacturers are also bringing more EV models to market, with over 160 options now available across all segments and price points, many supported by the government’s Electric Car Grant.

But Mike Hawes, chief executive of SMMT, warns that progress should not be mistaken for mission accomplished. So far this year, EVs still account for just 23.9 per cent of registrations, below the 33 per cent dictated by the Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate.

A similar picture is visible in the van market where battery electric van uptake rose 35.5 per cent to take a 9.8 per cent market share, but this remains far below the 24 per cent mandated target for 2026 and, indeed, is even below last month’s share. Higher upfront costs, energy prices and charging constraints continue to weigh on fleet investment decisions.

The broader policy context adds further pressure. The Government’s Seventh Carbon Budget (CB7) envisages electric cars and vans making up around 95 per cent of new sales by 2030, an ambition beyond the ZEV Mandate’s 80 per cent target for cars and 70 per cent for vans.

Meanwhile, the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) has found that now the UK’s diesel car drivers are paying £255 more to fuel their cars than if they had been driving an EV, whilst petrol car drivers have paid £175 more annually.

Collectively, cars running on petrol and diesel have cost over £6.3bn more to fuel in the last 100 days than if they had been EVs.

If prices were to remain at their current elevated levels for a year, the additional costs of running the nation’s petrol and diesel cars, compared to EVs, would be over £23bn.

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