Tuesday , February 24 2026

New UK car registrations hit two million in 2025 amid EV growth

Renault showroom

The new car market ended 2025 with 2,020,520 UK registrations last year for the first time since 2019.

Figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) indicate a third year of growth.

Repeating a pattern seen in previous years, electric vehicle (EV) registrations took a high market share in the final month of the year, accounting for 32.2% of the market. As a result, last year’s market rose by 3.5% in total.

Hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) sales rose by 7.2% to achieve a 13.9% market share, while plug-in hybrids were the fastest growing powertrain, with volumes increasing 34.7% to take 11.1% of registrations.

Meanwhile, almost half a million (473,348) new EVs were registered during 2025 – more than in the whole of 2021 and 2022 combined.

However, the internal combustion engine (petrol and diesel) is still the biggest selling powertrain but growing demand for electrified cars has narrowed the majority to just 51.5%.

About Gareth Herincx

Gareth is a versatile journalist, copywriter and digital editor who's worked across the media in newspapers, magazines, TV, teletext, radio and online. After long stints at the BBC, GMTV and ITV, he now specialises in motoring.

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