Fresh registration data from the SMMT reveals a phenomenal mid-year rally for electric mobility, with new battery-electric car sales jumping 44.5% year-on-year in July to hit 43,106 units.
This pushed EVs to a commanding 27.5% share of the total new car market.
Parallel to the passenger sector, electric light commercial vehicles staged an impressive showing with 28,500 new registrations, marking the category's fourth consecutive month of sustained expansion. While these figures show clear momentum on the tarmac, the SMMT cautions that overall progress still trails behind the government’s ambitious 2026 ZEV mandate targets, underscoring the ongoing need for supportive industrial policy.
What did the team say?
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John: "New electric car registrations jumped more than 44% in July compared with the same period last year... accounting for 27.5% of the whole new car market... Electric van registrations reached a record level of growth in July... up 22% on the same time last year."
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Paul: "I find Mike Hawes is not always the positive voice that I would love to see from the SMMT... He doesn't talk about vans very much... There has to be some sort of middle ground. We've got to bring solutions to the table, not just always going 'No, no, no, stop this, stop this'... We need to get the full story out there and also talk about the green benefits of moving to an economy that is much more green-focused."