The UK’s new car market fell 10.4% in April but battery electric car registrations soared.

A total of 120,331 new cars were registered during April, latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) reveal, equating to 13,943 fewer cars than in April 2024 and 25.3% behind pre-pandemic April 2019. It’s also the sixth fall in the new car market over the last seven months.

Demand was down across all sales types, with registrations from larger fleets falling 11.9% alongside a 10.9% drop in ‘business’ registrations to fleets with fewer than 25 vehicles and a 7.9% decline in demand from private drivers. Continuing market trends, larger fleet buyers accounted for the lion’s share of new car activity, responsible for six in 10 registrations.

April is normally a quieter month after the March plate change but the decline was also due to the economic backdrop, weakened consumer confidence and the late timing of Easter, which resulted in fewer working days.

The SMMT also said the arrival of VED changes affecting all new cars, including the Expensive Car Supplement, which became applicable to many new EVs from 1 April, had led drivers to bring transactions forward into March as shrewd buyers got ahead of the tax increases.

Bucking the decline, battery electric cars (BEVs) provided pivotal support for the new car market in April, increasing 8.1% to 24,558 units and taking more than a fifth (20.4%) of the market; still significantly below the 28% target for 2025 under the ZEV mandate.

Plug-in hybrids (PHEV) were also up, rising 34.1% to take an 11.7% share.

Conversely, demand for hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) fell 2.9%, with petrol and diesel registrations down 22.0% and 26.2% respectively.

The SMMT said the importance of incentives to boost volumes remains paramount. It’s called again for the Government to halve VAT on new EV purchases, scrap – or amend – the VED Expensive Car Supplement, and equalise VAT paid on public charging to help boost the market.

Mike Hawes, chief executive, said: “Recent government adjustments to flexibilities and compliance within the ZEV mandate are welcome and an important first step in relieving some of the pressure on the market and manufacturers. However, EV uptake is still being heavily and unsustainably subsidised by the industry, which is why a compelling package of measures from government is essential if consumers are going to make the switch.”

In the latest market outlook, the forecast for full-year 2025 new car registrations has been bumped up to 1.964 million units. But 2026 expectations remain below the two million mark for what would be the seventh successive year.

And market share expectations for new BEV registrations remain fairly constant with only a marginal revision downward from the January view, by 0.2 percentage points to 23.5% for this year, and by 0.3 percentage points to 28% next year, compared with the ZEV mandate targets of 28% and 33% respectively.

Following the figures, many in the industry renewed calls for BEV incentives.

John Cassidy, managing director of sales at Close Brothers Motor Finance, commented: “Numbers continue to fall well short of the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate targets, and the Government needs to think seriously about how to incentivise uptake of electric vehicles. A funding boost for EV charging infrastructure would be a good start. In fact, 57% of motor dealers believe there isn’t enough time to improve the infrastructure for the ban to go ahead. Arguably, people are yet to be convinced that the 2030 target isn’t unrealistic.”

Susan Wells, director of EV and solar at Hive, said: “Affordability still remains one of the biggest barriers to EV uptake and policymakers must ensure they are taking every step to encourage more drivers to make the transition. This includes additional funding to support the rapid expansion of the UK’s charging network and reducing VAT on public charging costs.”

And Jamie Hamilton, automotive partner and head of electric vehicles at Deloitte, commented: “Although sales of battery electric vehicles continue to grow across the sector, it is clear that consumer perception on EVs still needs to shift. With ongoing concerns over price and charging infrastructure still commonplace, more needs to be done to support private buyers thinking about switching to electric.”

Others said the figures show the continued challenges facing the UK automotive sector, which include the potential impact of US trade tariffs, downbeat consumer sentiment, economic uncertainty and changing regulations.

Novuna Vehicle Solutions’ MD Jon Lawes commented: “The next few months will be critical for the UK motor industry as it grapples with the impact of sweeping tariffs imposed by the US administration and fears over price hikes and disrupted supply chains.

“This injects a level of volatility into market, which the industry could do without. Affordability remains the key to EV adoption, and any threat to that risks stalling hard-won progress. As economic pressures mount, ensuring cost stability and policy consistency will be vital.

“The leasing sector, instrumental in the UK’s electrification journey, must remain agile to support businesses and drivers through a period of geopolitical uncertainty.”

David Hall, Schneider Electric UK & Ireland’s VP power systems said: “The key to maintaining consistent EV sales will be improved EV charging infrastructure across local councils to meet growing demand.

“A recent survey found that though UK councils are increasing investment in EV infrastructure by as much as 42% year on year, only 15% of councils could report that 100% of their EV chargers are operational. It’s clear that many councils could greatly benefit from the ability to track EV charger performance, detect faults or outages, and even enable remote repairs. Without it, reliability is called into question, potentially leaving drivers in their areas stranded and dissuading potential customers from purchasing an EV in future.

“Increasing awareness and education around remote monitoring systems can support local councils and EV charging providers, particularly at high-demand locations such as motorway services or city/town centres, where usage will surge as EV adoption grows. Ideally, greater collaboration between charging providers and their suppliers — across both the public and private sectors — will help ensure a more reliable and seamless charging experience; both before install and after. Making sure councils have the right plan in place to plot the EV charging infrastructure will be essential to continued long-term growth in the sector.”

And Vicky Edmonds, chief executive of EVA England, said: “Today’s numbers should serve as a call to action on the Government to ensure these new drivers can charge reliably and affordably, and that a maximum number of households – including those without driveways or access to private charge points – can manage the switch seamlessly as EVs gradually become the car of choice.”