New car registrations DOWN by 1.3% in August – but EV sales are up

New car registration in the UK fell slightly in August 2024 – by 1.3% – but EV sales rose by over 10% in a traditionally quiet sales month.

New car registrations in the UK are always pretty poor in August as many buyers wait for the September plate change. And August 2024 is no different.

In fact – after two years of growth – new car registrations actually fell in August compared to the same month last year, although the fall was a small 1.3%

As we’ve become used to, Fleet sales were the big number, and although they fell by 1.2% they accounted for 60.7% of all new car registrations – exactly t he same as in 2023.

Private buyer registrations were up by a minuscule 0.2%, and business registrations were down by a whopping 3.3% (although they account for just 1.3% of the market).

Petrol cars still accounted for over 50% of total sales – down by 10.1% to 42,872 – with diesel sales at just 5,165, a 6.1% market share.

After something of a sales success recently, PHEVs took a hit with a drop of 12.3% and a 6.8% market share, but hybrid vehicles rose by an impressive 36.1% to take 13.8% of the market.

BEVs did better this month, rising by 10.8% for a market share of 22.6%, although the SMMT put that down to big discounts to get EVs sold.

Mike Hawes, SMMT CEO said:

August’s EV growth is welcome, but it’s always a very low volume month and so subject to distortions ahead of September’s number plate change. The introduction of the new 74 plate, together with a raft of compelling offers and discounts from manufacturers, plus growing model choice, will help increase purchase consideration and be a true barometer for market demand. Encouraging a mass market shift to EVs remains a challenge, however, and urgent action must be taken to help buyers overcome affordability issues and concerns about chargepoint provision.