Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) accounted for more than four in 10 (43%) of fleet registrations in the first nine months of 2024, Cap HPI has revealed.

The data suggests manufacturers and fleet are shifting their focus back to BEVs

Its latest Insight report shows that year to date, BEV fleet share in September increased to 43%. That’s up over 10% compared to the year’s first quarter but down compared to the 50.1% for the first three-quarters of 2023.

BEV uptake has been stronger in recent months, and looking at the last quarter in isolation, BEV share stands at 47%. Plug-in hybrid (PHEV) share remains high at nearly 22%, but this is down compared to earlier in the year when it accounted for over 25%. However, examining the last quarter in isolation, PHEV’s share is 19%.

The Cap HPI fleet figures compare to SMMT registrations data across the new car market, showing a 20.5% share for BEVs in September, 8.9% for PHEVs, 14.2% for hybrids (HEVs), 50.1% for petrol and 6.4% for diesel.

Andrew Turner, senior product specialist at Cap HPI Consulting, said: “The data suggests that manufacturers and fleet are shifting their focus back to BEVs. Although petrol’s share remains strong, it accounts for a quarter (25.3%) of this market.”

Cap’s September data on the top 10 fleet models includes some models not featured before, with the Mercedes EQB and Volkswagen Tiguan as new entrants.

The Range Rover Sport enters the top 10 at number eight, with the PHEV technology adoption helping to substantially lower BiK costs than petrol or diesel versions.

The Tesla Model Y tops the year-to-date chart, with the Model 3 now in fourth place.  The year’s early frontrunner, the A3, is in second, with its stablemate, the Q4, in third.

Top 10 fleet registrations: