New car market grows above pre-pandemic levels in October

The 153,529 registrations seen in the month was also 14.3% higher than seen during October last year. Additionally, it was 15th consecutive month of growth seen by the market and was driven almost entirely by large fleet registrations – which grew by 28.8% to reach 87,479.  

Private demand, meanwhile, remained relatively stable at 62,915 – a 0.3% increase – while the much smaller business sector saw registrations fall by 15.2% to 3,135 units. Taking all this into account, overall vehicle uptake is now up 19.6% in the first 10 months – with the market currently enjoying its best year since 2019.  

Broken down by type, electrified vehicle uptake continued to accelerate in October – with it now accounting for 37.6% of all new car registrations. Of this, hybrid electric vehicles grew by 24.6% to reach 19,574 units, while plug-in hybrid vehicles recorded the highest proportional growth – up 60.5% to 14,285 registrations.  

As for battery electric vehicle (BEV) uptake, this increased for the 42nd month in a row, going up by 20.1% to 23,943 units. However, given the overall market growth, BEV’s market share accounted for just 15.6% – a relatively small rise from last year’s 14.8% figure.  

Additionally, private registrations accounted for fewer than one in four new BEVs this year. Meanwhile, in the year to date, BEV volumes have risen by 34.2% to account for 16.3% of new registrations this year – up only slightly from 14.6% when compared to this time last year.

SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said: “With demand for new cars surpassing pre-pandemic levels in the month, the market is defying expectations and driving growth. As fleet uptake flourishes, particularly for EVs, sustained success depends on encouraging all consumers to invest in the latest zero emission vehicles.  

“The autumn statement is a key opportunity for government to introduce incentives and facilitate infrastructure investment. Doing so would send a clear signal of support for drivers, reassuring them that now is the time to switch to electric.” 

Going forward, overall new car registrations are anticipated to reach 1.886 million by the end of the year – a rise of 2.1% on July’s expectations. Despite this, BEV uptake has been downgraded and is expected to drop by 1.7% to 324,000 units – resulting in an expected market share at the end of the year of 17.2%.  

As for next year, the overall market is expected to be marginally more positive than previously anticipated – up one percent to 1.970 million units.

However, the BEV market share outlook has been revised down slightly to an expected market share of 22.3% - driven by an absence of consumer incentives and an overwhelming dependency on fleet registrations for growth. It comes even though registrations are expected to reach 439,000 units – up 35.5% on 2023.