New car sales UP by 6.7% in June – EVs up by 39.1%

New car sales in the UK in June 2025 rose by 6.7% – and BEVs by 39.1% – with the best-selling car the Nissan Qashqai.

It’s only been a week since we reported that new car production in the UK hit its lowest level since 1949 as the UK car manufacturing sector posted its fifth fall in a row.

But if new car production is in a dire state, new car sales are faring rather better with a rise of 6.7% in June 2025, the best June performance since Covid, with a total of 191,316 new cars registered and increases in numbers for both Fleet (up 8.5%) and Private (up by 5.9%) buyers.

Registrations of petrol cars fell by 4.2% whilst Diesel car registrations grew by a miniscule 0.2% for a combined ICE market share of 51.6%, with BEVs up by an impressive 39.1% due mainly to Fleet buyers’ tax breaks and an unsustainable £6.5 billion to date subsidy from car makers. The market for Hybrids fell by 8.5% and for PHEVs grew by 28.8%.

Despite the growth in EV sales in the first six months of 2025, EV registrations (and how many are pre-reg?) account for only a 21.6% market share, well behind the mandated 28% for 2025.

Top-selling new cars in June were the Nissan Qashaqi, Ford Puma and Tesla Model Y.

Mike Hawes, SMMT CEO, said:

A second consecutive month of growth for the new car market is good news, as is the positive performance of EVs. That EV growth, however, is still being driven by substantial industry support with manufacturers using every channel and unsustainable discounting to drive activity, yet it remains below mandated levels.